Stranded
by Celestina Van Helsing
Summary: *An AU version of 'The Lodger'* When the Doctor and Robyn are thrown from the TARDIS by an unknown force, they need to find its source, and a place to stay. But when they find it, nothing is as it seems... 3rd in a series called 'A Daughter of Time.'
1. Prologue

**OoOoOoOoO**

Aickman Road, in Colchester, Essex, was a quiet little street, where nothing, absolutely _nothing_, ever happened. Nobody came, and nobody left, and the people already there just lived their lives from day to day. Craig Owens was one such person, currently living by himself in the floor level flat at number 79a Aickman Road. He _used_ to have a flatmate, but somewhere along the way, an elderly relative neither of them had heard of left his flatmate a great deal of money, so he had since moved out, leaving Craig with the difficult task of finding someone to live with him. And he had another problem... well two, but one was more important than the other.

There was a girl, someone he worked with, that he cared for very deeply, but just couldn't find the words to express how he felt. And he was scared that she'd reject him; he had no ambition, nothing that he felt worth doing if it meant leaving Colchester... and her. He'd even given up a better job, with an even greater pay packet than he already had, just so he could stay with her.

And then there was the rot. The patch on the corner of the ceiling had started off quite small, well, as far as Craig could remember it. The rot had always been there, and he'd always been meaning to call someone to come and get it fixed, but then he'd always forget about it, getting distracted by something else. So, the rot stayed, and it grew, and it grew, but nothing, as usual, was ever done about it.

Until the day the Doctor arrived at Aickman Road.

Not that he was actively _trying_ to get to Aickman Road, but the TARDIS was being her usual temperamental self and refusing to do what he wanted. Once the time ship materialised, a little girl, only eight, or nine, years of age, stuck her head out of the front door, looking around excitedly. "Where are we, Dad?" she asked, briefly returning to the safety of the Police Box, but remaining by the door. "Is the fifth moon of Cyndacalista _supposed_ to look like Earth?"

Amy, who remained by the console, raised her eyebrows. "Well?" she said, looking at him in annoyance. "Are we on the fifth moon of Cyndacalista or not?"

The Doctor sighed. "All right, all right, I'll take a look outside," he replied, heading to the front door. "And you check where we are on the scanner."

"Okay, Doctor."

He quickly joined Robyn, for this was the little girl's name, at the front door, and opened it. He leaned out, surveying the area, then sighed again. "No, Amy, it's definitely not the fifth moon of Cyndacalista," he said, squinting into the distance. "I think I can see a Ryman's." But before the Doctor could get back inside, a small explosion, and a sudden rush of energy, pushed him out of the TARDIS. Robyn cried out in alarm, as she too, was caught in the blast, and both father and daughter landed on the grass. The TARDIS continued to dematerialise before their eyes, and Amy was still inside!

Sparks flew as Amy held on for dear life, using the bar underneath the scanner screen to hold herself up as the time ship shook. "Doctor!" she called, though she was really not sure whether the Doctor could hear her. "It's saying we're on Earth, Essex, Colchester." As the shaking stopped, or at least slowed, Amy stood, backing away from the console. "Doctor? It's taking off again." She frowned. "Doctor, can you hear me?"

"AMY!" the Doctor cried, as Robyn rolled off of him.

But she was gone... and they were stuck.

**OoOoOoOoO**


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

"What just happened?" Robyn asked, getting to her feet and brushing herself off, picking leaves from her long dark hair. "Why did the TARDIS just throw us out like that?"

The Doctor continued to lie on the ground, thinking about how they'd gotten into this mess, then shook his head. "I don't know yet," he replied. "Although... there might be some kind of temporal disturbance, something that the TARDIS decided it needed to get away from quickly."

"And she couldn't wait until we were inside?"

Upon hearing this, the Doctor stood, brushing the grass and leaves from his clothes. "Evidently not, or else we wouldn't be here." He took out his sonic screwdriver and turned it on, pointing it in the area immediately in front of him. "And the temporal disturbance seems to be quite close," he continued. "We just have to find out where it is."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Robyn folded her arms across her chest, becoming rather angry with him. "We're stuck here until the TARDIS comes back, and we've got no where to stay..."

"We'll find somewhere," the Doctor reassured her. "I'll need a place to work while we look for the source of the disturbance."

Robyn sighed. "Will the TARDIS come back?" she asked, letting her arms fall to her sides. "How long are we going to be stuck here?"

The Doctor looked at her, his face gravely serious. "I don't know," he replied, crouching in front of her. "It could be days, weeks, even months for us, but it could only be a few minutes for Amy. That's why we need to find the disturbance and deal with it as quickly as we can."

"This disturbance... is Amy in danger?"

"Very likely, but she's a smart girl, and she can look after herself. But I am going to have to do some jiggery pokery... stuff, before I can contact her."

Robyn shook her head in disbelief. "How are you going to do that?"

The Doctor rummaged through the pockets of his coat, then produced a small earpiece, not unlike the hands free device that worked with a mobile telephone. "I'll use this," he said, affixing the device to his left ear. "And whenever I'll need to talk to Amy, it'll connect me straight through to the TARDIS."

"But you've only got _one_ earpiece," Robyn argued. "How am I supposed to be able to talk to Amy too?"

The Doctor laughed. "Oh, that's easy," he said, taking a second earpiece from his pocket and handing it to her. "I always carry a spare, in case one doesn't work."

Robyn grinned, and attached the device to her ear. "And she'll be able to talk to us?"

"She certainly will," the Doctor replied with a nod of his head. "As a precaution, though, anyone listening to us will think we're talking gibberish."

"Gibberish?"

"Gibberish."

Robyn looked down at herself, realising that she was going to need more than one set of clothes if they were going to be staying there for a while. Unlike the Doctor, she didn't feel comfortable wearing the same outfit, or variations there of, all the time. "You'll have to take me shopping," she said.

"Shopping?"

"I can't wear the same clothes all the time, Dad, not like you. So we have to get me some new clothes."

"Yes, I suppose we'll have to," the Doctor replied, with a groan. "All right, we'll do that when we find a place to stay."

"We'll need money too," Robyn added. "Can't buy clothes without money, and we'll have to pay for them, _and_ for a place to stay when we find it."

This time the Doctor didn't respond, thinking about what they were going to do about Amy. Whatever the temporal disturbance was, it started affecting the TARDIS as soon as it had materialised, and was, quite possibly, still affecting it while they stood around in the park. Not that anything Robyn had said wasn't important. They definitely would need to find a place to stay, hopefully within the area of the disturbance, so they kept as close to the TARDIS as they could. He scratched his head. "I don't really know what to do now," he said. "It's been a while since I had to spend a long time on Earth, you know."

Robyn frowned. "Well, the first thing we should do is find a shopping centre, or something. Sometimes there's advertisements in the windows that people put there if they're looking for flatmates, or stuff like that."

The Doctor grinned. "That's a very good idea." He took her by the hand. "Come on."

Together they left the park, and walked up the street, until they came upon a small shopping village. They looked around carefully, taking note to pay extra attention to the windows, in case they found anything like Robyn had described. But, unfortunately, they didn't find anything.

"We'll have to try again in the morning," the Doctor said with a sigh. "Because it doesn't look like we're going to find anything tonight."

Robyn nodded sadly. "We'll be sleeping outside tonight, then?"

"Certainly looks like it, unfortunately."

"It's okay," Robyn replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I slept outside all the time, when I kept running away from the orphanage. Of course, I kept giving myself colds because of that too."

"Don't worry, we'll find somewhere to sleep... well, we'll find somewhere for you to sleep."

Robyn frowned, looking up at him in confusion. "Don't you need to sleep too?" she asked, yawning a little.

The Doctor shook his head. "I never need sleep... well, actually, I sleep, but I can go a long time before I need to sleep again."

As darkness descended, the Doctor and Robyn returned to the park. Neither of them said anything, resigned to the fact that they would spend that night outdoors while Amy had to contend with a malfunctioning TARDIS. They eventually made themselves comfortable, or as comfortable as they could, and Robyn settled down, resting her head in the Doctor's lap, and went to sleep.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The next day, the Doctor and Robyn returned to the paper shop, hoping that something had now been posted in the windows. At first, it looked like there were only the same lost dog notices, and job advertisements, that they'd found the last time they looked, until Robyn noticed something unusual...

It was a note.

In red pen.

In _Amy's_ handwriting!

The note had been posted above an advertisement which read 'One furnished room, available immediately. Shared kitchen, bathroom, with 27 yr old male, non-smoker, 400 pound p.c.m. Suit young professional.' The one thing the advertisement didn't mention was the address.

However, Amy's note did. Robyn stared at the note, bewildered, trying hard to figure out how it might have gotten there. Amy was still stuck in the TARDIS, so how could she be able to put a note above this particular advertisement?

"Looks like I'm going to have to tell Amy to leave us a note after all this," said the Doctor, noticing the confused expression on his daughter's face. "Or else we won't be able to find this Aickman Road."

"But how..." Robyn shook her head, coming to her senses. "No, wait, if I ask you how this got here, then you're just going tell me 'Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey', so I might as well accept that it's here, shouldn't I?"

The Doctor laughed. "Good girl, you're learning." He walked inside the shop, taking the note and reading it. "This is definitely Amy's handwriting all right," he murmured. He walked back outside and checked the advertisement. "400 pound p.c.m? What's that supposed to mean?"

Robyn shrugged. "I think whoever made up the ad was trying to be clever," she replied. "I think they mean 400 pounds rent per calendar month." She frowned. "Which means we're back to needing money."

"Well, at least we've found a place to stay now," said the Doctor, placing Amy's note in his pocket. "We'll just have to convince the person who put this up to let us stay with him."

"Which brings us back to needing money," Robyn reminded him. "Because this '27 yr old male', whoever he is, is going to want us, well... you... to pay him rent." She glanced around, checking to see if there was a cash-dispenser somewhere. "Come on, this way," she said when she finally saw one, dragging the Doctor over to the machine. "I haven't got any idea how much we'll need, but..."

"Better to get a lot," the Doctor replied, taking his sonic screwdriver, and a paper bag, from his coat pocket. He handed the paper bag to Robyn. "Here, you hold this underneath, and I'll use the sonic on the machine."

Robyn gulped. "Will that work?" she asked, looking him nervously. "Besides, isn't that stealing?"

The Doctor grinned. "Don't worry, I'll put in a call to UNIT and get them to reimburse them later."

"Still feels like stealing though, even if you do get this UNIT lot to put the money back. I mean, what if we're caught? They'll take me away from you if we're caught!"

"No one's going to take you away," the Doctor replied, trying to assuage her fears. "And we're not going to get caught."

Robyn frowned. "You say that _now_..."

"We'll be fine."

Not inclined to argue about the issue any further, Robyn did as she was told, holding the paper bag open underneath the slot where the money came out of the cash machine. The Doctor activated the sonic screwdriver, the tool buzzing and whirring as he pointed it at the machine. Almost immediately, cash started spilling into the paper bag before their eyes. They waited for a few moments, then the Doctor returned the sonic to the off position. At the same time, the cash stopped flowing into the paper bag, and Robyn looked at it wide eyed. She'd never seen so much money before, let alone held it. She sighed. It was almost a shame to have to use any of it, but it was necessary. She needed clothes, and they needed to pay for the room they hoped to rent. "We should go buy me some clothes next," she said. "And we should still have enough left over."

The Doctor nodded, putting the sonic screwdriver back in his pocket and taking the paper bag from his daughter. "Right." He looked around, trying to work out where they should go to find Robyn some clothes, then frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" the Doctor replied, a little too quickly. "Nothing at all." He took Robyn by the hand. "Come on, there's bound to be a clothing store around here somewhere."

And so, the pair of them set off, eventually managing to find a small store where they bought Robyn a few outfits that she could mix and match as she pleased, a couple of pairs of sturdy running shoes, and a satchel to keep them in. Of course, the Doctor managed to get them thrown out of the same store not long after they made the purchases, but that didn't matter, because now it was time to find 79a Aickman Road.

"What are we going to do when we get to Aickman Road?" Robyn asked as they walked. "Start looking for the temporal disturbance?"

"We have to look for this flat Amy pointed us to first, then we'll start looking for the temporal disturbance," the Doctor replied. "Who knows, maybe they'll be in the same area."

"It'd definitely make everything a little easier."

"Or make it a lot harder. I won't be able to use any conventional alien technology when we get to Aickman Road, and that includes the sonic screwdriver."

Robyn grinned. "And you'll need to act completely human," she reminded him, finding the thought that her father would have to act like a human, for what could be a couple months, absolutely hilarious. "Maybe Amy can give you some help when we contact her." She giggled. "You'll really need it this time, Dad."

But before the Doctor could reply, he noticed a woman exit a house further along the street, then get into her car and drive off. He quickened his pace, then stopped in front of the house that the woman had come out of. He took the note from Amy out of his pocket and looked at it, then at the address on the intercom next to the front door. They matched. "We're here," he said. "79a Aickman Road."

"What are you waiting for then?" Robyn replied. "Ring the doorbell already, Dad!"

The Doctor scowled at her. "I will, keep your socks on." He straightened his jacket, then his bowtie, and approached the front door with Robyn in tow, then pushed the doorbell button for flat 79a. Moments later, a portly young man came to the door, spouting declarations of love for someone. The Doctor smiled. "Well, that's good, because we're your new lodgers."

**OoOoOoOoO**

The same day, just over an hour earlier...

A young man was walking past number 79a Aickman Road. He was thinking about all the problems there were in his life, and how desperately he wanted to escape them...

At least he was, when the voice of an old man came through the intercom on the front of the house, and he stopped in his tracks. "Hello?" the voice called. "Hello? Please? Hello?"

The young man looked around, wondering if the man was speaking to him, or if he was speaking to someone else who might've been close by. But he was alone. There was no question about it. The man, whoever he was, was obviously talking to him.

"I need your help," the voice continued. "There's been an accident."

The young man approached the front door, staring at the intercom, but said nothing. He had no idea what was going on, or why the old man needed help, or why the old man had specifically asked for _him_, but something, he didn't know what, was compelling him to go into the house. Someone in that house needed help, and he was going to give it to them.

The front door opened automatically, and then the inner door house opened with very little effort, swinging back into place when the young man was safely inside.

"Hello?" he called, looking up the stairs as the lights flickered. He rationalised this as just faulty wiring, but even if he hadn't come to that explanation, the flickering still made him worry. He shook his head, trying to forget about the flickering lights, then looked up the stairs again. Just as he thought, there was an old man standing in front of the door leading to the upstairs flat, resting his hand on the banister.

"Please, will you help me?" the old man begged.

The young man looked at him, still confused. "Help you?" he replied, approaching the bottom of the stairs gingerly. "What's wrong?"

"Something terrible's happened," the old man said. Although he was shrouded in shadow, there was the feeling that something not right about the old man, but it was hard to tell whether it was his desperation to find someone to help him, or something else entirely. "Please help me."

The young man, despite his better judgment, ascended the staircase, following the old man into his flat...

But it was the last thing he ever did.

However, the effects of this did not go unnoticed in the downstairs flat...

Craig Owens, the occupant of the downstairs flat, was in his living room, currently making tea for himself, and his friend, Sophie. This was the same woman that poor Craig loved, yet could not declare his feelings for. She was the reason he wanted to stay in Colchester, and nothing would make him leave her. However, while he was making the cups of tea, she was staring at the patch of rot that was growing on the corner of the ceiling.

"Craig, what's that on the ceiling?" she asked as she put her set of house keys, on the table by Craig's laptop.

"What's what on the ceiling?" Craig replied, without looking up.

Sophie pointed to the rot, showing it to him. "That. It's coming from upstairs." She frowned. "Who lives up there again?"

Craig looked at the rot, feeling uneasy about the whole thing. "Just some bloke," he replied noncommittally, as if that was all that needed to be said on the issue.

Although she wasn't completely satisfied by his answer, Sophie decided not to push it. It was none of their business what was going on upstairs anyway. Besides, this was her time with Craig, and she was about to let anything spoil it... well, she hoped nothing was going to spoil it. Her plans with Craig had been spoilt far too many times than she could remember, and she wasn't about to let them get spoilt again.

"So, what's the plan tonight?" Craig asked, handing Sophie her cup of tea. "Pizza, booze, telly?"

She grinned. "Yeah. Pizza, booze, telly." A loud crash came from above them, and the two of them looked at the ceiling in alarm. "What is he _doing_ up there?" Sophie asked, but Craig didn't respond, so she decided change the subject. "You put the advert up yet?"

"Yeah, did it today," Craig replied, putting his cup of tea on the coffee table. "Paper shop window. One furnished room available, immediately. Shared kitchen, bathroom. With 27 yr old male, non-smoker. 400 pound p.c.m - per calendar month - Suit young professional."

Sophie smiled. "Sounds ideal." Just then her mobile rang, so she got up to answer it. "That's your mission in life, Craig," she joked as she picked up the phone. "Find me a man."

"Otherwise you'll have to settle for me?" he asked, letting out a nervous laugh as he picked up the Jubilee pizza menu.

"You'll have to settle for me first," Sophie countered. She looked the screen on her phone, then sighed. "Melina again." She answered the call, while Craig decided to take a closer look at the rot problem. "What? Right." A feeling of disappointment washed over her, and she knew the evening's plans would have to be put on hold. "Yeah, but I've kinda got plans," she said, hoping Melina would take the hint. She sighed again. "No, it's nothing important, it's just Craig."

Craig glanced at her and scowled. "Oh thanks, Soph," he said, feeling slightly hurt that she said such a thing.

Sophie covered the mouthpiece with her hand. "Sorry," she whispered. "You know what I mean." Uncovering the mouthpiece, she returned to the call. "Okay. I'll... eh... I'll talk to Craig. 'kay." Ending the call, she looked at Craig sadly. "Now she's having a Dylan crisis on top of the Claire crisis," she told him. "It could be another all-nighter." She smiled apologetically. "I'm _sorry_, but I really should go. Do you... _mind_ if I go?"

But Craig _did_ mind, but his feelings for her kept him from showing it. "No, not at all," he replied, shaking his head. "No, honestly. Course not, go."

"Cause, I could _stay_?"

"No, go on," he insisted.

"I mean, we've got plans."

Craig laughed. "It's just pizza," he said, dropping the menu on the table, and trying to downplay how important it really was.

"Yeah, it's just pizza," she echoed, looking at the menu wistfully. She waited for a moment, hoping Craig would do something to stop her leaving, but what she hoped for never came. "Okay, right," she said at last. "I'm going." She collected her jacket and headed to the front door, still silently hoping he would stop her before she left.

But he didn't. "All right, then," he said instead. "Well, um... I'll see you soon."

"Yeah."

"All right... and give me a call," he added. "And I hope everything's okay."

Sophie looked at him as she went through the door. "Thanks," she replied. "Sorry." Out in the hall, she leaned against the door for a few moments, devastated that her plans with Craig had been ruined yet again. Resigning herself to another night of helping Melina, she started to head off, when another loud banging sound came from the flat upstairs, distracting her briefly. She looked upstairs, and for a moment she thought she saw an old man peering through the front door's stained glass window... then turned and walked away, knowing it was wrong to stick her nose into other's own business.

Back inside the flat, however, Craig too, was having a personal crisis of his own. He stood in front of the refrigerator, practicing how to tell Sophie that he loved her, when the doorbell rang. He looked over at the table, and smiled, realising that she'd left her keys behind. "Every time!" he said with exasperation, collecting them and heading to the front door, continuing to practice the words he was going to say to her when he gave them back to her. He opened the door, and before he could stop himself, before he realised that the person he was talking to was _not_ the person he thought he was going to talk to, he blurted out "I love you," to a young man, and a little girl, who were standing on his doorstep.

"Well, that's good," the man replied. "Because we're your new lodgers." Not realising they belonged to someone else, he took the set of keys from Craig's hand. "Do you know, this is going to be easier than I expected."

**OoOoOoOoO**


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

"But I only put the advert up today," Craig replied, when he finally recovered from the shock of it all. "I didn't put my address."

"Well, aren't you lucky," said the Doctor, glancing at Robyn, who was grinning merrily. "More lucky than you know." He looked up at the top floor of the house, eyeing it suspiciously. "Less of a young professional," he continued, reciting what was written on the advert and turning it on its head. "More of an... ancient amateur, but frankly, I'm an absolute dream."

By now, Craig was beginning to feel flustered, and more than a little confused. "Hang on a minute, mate," he stammered. "I don't know if I want you to stay here. And give me back those keys," he said, snatching them from the Doctor's hand. "You can't have those."

"Yes, quite right," the Doctor agreed. He handed Craig the paper bag. "Here have some rent."

Robyn winced, feeling ashamed with herself for finding the poor man's shock as he looked inside the paper bag amusing. But it was just too good to resist, and she felt the laughter bubbling up inside of her. It was too late to stop herself, and she started to giggle. She quickly followed the Doctor inside as he pushed past Craig and entered the hallway.

"Don't spend it all on sweets" the Doctor warned. "Unless you like sweets. I like sweets. Oo." He stopped short; suddenly remembering something, then turned around and kissed the air on either side of him. "That's how we greet each other nowadays, isn't it?" he asked, but he didn't wait a response before adding "I'm the Doctor. Well, they call me the Doctor. I don't know why. I call me the Doctor too." He frowned. "Still don't know why." He looked at Robyn, who by now was using all the energy she had left to support herself against the wall, because she'd been giggling so hard. "And this is my..."

"Daughter," Robyn choked out between fits of giggles. "I'm Robyn, his daughter."

"Craig... Owens," Craig replied, as the Doctor shot the little girl a 'We'll talk about this later' look. "The Doctor?"

"Yep. Who lives upstairs?"

"Some bloke."

The Doctor frowned. "What's he look like?"

Craig shook his head. "Normal, he's very quiet." He winced as they all heard a loud crash come from the upstairs flat. "Usually." Taking Robyn by the hand, the Doctor entered the flat proper, intending to inspect the premises more thoroughly. Craig, who was still flabbergasted by the sudden appearance of the pair, followed close behind. "Sorry... who are you again? Hello... excuse me?"

He noticed the rot on the ceiling immediately, and Robyn looked at it in disgust. "Ah, I suppose that... dry rot?"

"Or damp, or mildew," Craig offered, forgetting himself for a moment. "I'll get someone to fix it."

"Or none of the above. No, I'll fix it, I'm good at fixing rot," the Doctor replied. "Call me the Rotmeister." He frowned, realising how bad the title sounded. "No, I'm the Doctor, don't call me the Rotmeister." He walked over to the kitchen and sat on the counter. "This is the most _beautiful_parlour I have ever seen," he continued. "You're obviously a man of impeccable taste." He smiled. "I can say it, Craig, can't I? Say I can."

"You haven't even seen the room," Craig replied.

The Doctor's smiled faded. "The room?"

"Your room." Craig looked at Robyn. "And hers, I guess. Didn't expect anyone with a kid to show up."

"Our room?" The Doctor's smile brightened again when he remembered what he was there for. "Ah, yes. Our room!" He looked at Robyn, and she smiled back at him. "Take us to our room."

The room itself was a fairly decent size, big enough for the Doctor and Robyn for the time being. The Doctor would be able to work in there comfortably, or as near comfortably as he could, with the exception of one little snag. At some point he may need to clear away the bed, but then that would leave Robyn with nowhere to sleep. Well, they'd cross that bridge when they came to it, and not before.

"Here, this is Mark's old room," Craig explained, as the Doctor tested the bed springs. "He owns the place. Moved out about a month ago. This uncle he'd never even heard of died and left him a load of money in the will." The Doctor and Robyn looked at each other upon hearing this, recognising that they would have one more thing to organise once they were finished here.

"How very convenient," the Doctor replied. "This'll do just right, in fact..." Another loud crash, accompanied by the sound of breaking glass, came from above. The Doctor licked his finger, then held it in front of him, as if he was testing the air. "No time to lose," he said. "I'll take it. Ah, you want to see my credentials." He took the psychic paper from his pocket, and held it up. "There. National Insurance number," he passed the paper behind his back, then held it up again, "NHS number," he passed the paper behind his back for a second time, "References."

Craig barely had the time to look at the psychic paper before the Doctor passed it behind his back, but what he _did_ see made him do a double take. "Is that a reference from the _Archbishop of Canterbury?_"

"I'm his special favourite," the Doctor replied, holding a finger to his lips. "Shh." He paused, taking a moment to let everything sink in. "You hungry?" he asked, but he quickly added, "I'm hungry," as he walked back into the kitchen.

"I haven't got anything in," Craig protested, as he, and Robyn, followed the Doctor.

But the Doctor wouldn't be put off. "I've got everything I need for an..." He said something in French, which Robyn only half understood but she figured out, eventually, that he was going to make an omelette, pulling ingredients from the refrigerator and the cupboards. "So," the Doctor continued, as she sat at the counter. "Who's the girl on the fridge?"

Craig smiled stupidly, and Robyn could tell that the Doctor was up to something. "My friend, Sophie," he replied.

"Girlfriend?"

"Friend who's a girl." He looked down at the floor, feeling slightly embarrassed. "There's... nothing going on."

"That's completely normal. Works for me."

"Yeah, met her at work, about a year ago," Craig continued. "At the call centre."

Now this piqued the Doctor's interests. "Ah, a communications exchange! That could be handy..."

Craig sighed. "Phone's going down though," he replied. "Boss is using a totally rubbish business model. I know what they should do; I got a plan all worked out, but... I'm just a phone drone, I can't go running in saying I know best." He frowned, realising that he was talking to complete strangers. "Why am I telling _you_ this?" he asked. "I don't even know you."

"Well, I've... got one of those faces," the Doctor replied, mixing all the ingredients together in the pan. "People never stop blurting out their plans when I'm around."

"Right," said Craig, looking around to see if his new tenants had brought anything with them that they might need help with. "Where's your stuff?"

Robyn grinned. "Oh, it's around here somewhere."

The Doctor nodded. "Don't worry, it'll materialise... if all goes to plan."

Of course, back on the TARDIS, nothing was going to plan. Amy struggled mightily with the ancient time ship as it tried to wheeze and drone its way to existence. None of the controls worked, and even if Amy could pilot it herself, there was no way to be sure she would land in the right place. The Doctor depended on her to keep everything in some kind of order, but that was difficult she was constantly being knocked about.

She'd just have to sit tight and wait for the Doctor to contact her.

And hoped he'd do it soon.

**OoOoOoOoO**

After Craig, Robyn, and the Doctor ate, it was time to get down to business, but not without a brief information gathering session first. The Doctor had already gleaned a fair bit of useful information while he'd been cooking, but he still needed to know a bit more about the man he, and Robyn, were going to live with.

"Oh, that was _incredible_," said Craig as he sat down, completely amazed by the quality of the meal he'd just had. "That was absolutely _brilliant!_ Where did you learn to cook?"

"Paris," the Doctor replied. "In the... 18th century." He frowned. "No, hang on, that's not recent is it... 17th?" Realising this sounded wrong too, he shook his head. "No, no, no... 20th," He smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I'm not used to doing things in the right order."

Craig stared at him. "Has anyone ever told you you're a bit weird?"

The Doctor looked at Robyn pointedly. "They never really stop." He decided to change the subject. It wasn't important for Craig to learn too much about him, but he needed to learn as much as he could about Craig Owens. "Have you ever been to Paris, Craig?"

"Nah. I can't see the point of Paris," he admitted. "I'm not much of a traveler."

"I can tell from your sofa."

Craig looked at him, confused. "My sofa?"

The Doctor smiled. "You're starting to look like it."

"Thanks mate!" Craig said with a laugh. "That's lovely!" He shook his head. "Nah... Oh, I like it here. I'd miss it! I'd miss..." He trailed off, and the Doctor noticed that during their entire conversation Craig had been holding the set of keys that he'd adamantly refused to let the Doctor have, which meant they belonged to someone, and he obviously cared about the person quite a lot.

"Those keys."

"What?"

The Doctor pursed his lips. "You're sort of... _fondling_ them."

Craig quickly dropped the keys onto the armrest, feeling embarrassed again. "I'm... I'm _holding_ them," he said standing up and heading over to the sideboard. "Anyway... these," he picked up another set of keys, this time one without a pink key ring. "These are your keys."

"We can stay?" The Doctor and Robyn looked at each other, grinning happily, pleased by their good fortune, however well orchestrated it had been.

"Yeah, you're weird and you can cook, that's good enough for me." He held up the set of keys. "Right." He pointed to the first key on the ring, "Out door," then the next key, "front door," and the last, "your door."

"My door," he echoed, taking the keys and putting them in his pocket. "My place, my gaffe!" He laughed. "Me with a key."

But there was one more thing Craig realised he needed to mention. Part of the ground rules when he'd first moved in with Mark. "And listen, Mark and I, we have an _arrangement_,where if you need me out of your hair, just give me a shout." He winked at the Doctor, hoping to get his meaning across as discretely as possible. "Okay?"

Of course, the Doctor didn't get it. He winked back, then whispered, "Why would I want that?"

"Well, in case you want to bring someone round. A girlfriend..." Craig looked down at the Doctor's attire, tweed coat, bow-tie, and all. "Or a boyfriend..."

The Doctor nodded. "Oh, I will," he said. "I'll shout, if that happens. Something like..." Robyn covered her ears, just as the Doctor raised his voice and said, "I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS!" He looked at the ceiling. "By the way," he continued, lowering his voice again. "That. The rot. I've got the strangest feeling we shouldn't touch it." On that note, the Doctor patted Craig on the back, and once Robyn had jumped down from her perch behind the counter, the pair of them went back to their room.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"So, are we going to contact Amy now?" asked Robyn, when they were able to talk more freely. As much as she liked Craig from her initial impression of him, it was a shame she had to keep to herself while they stayed with him. "She'll be wondering where we've got to, Dad."

"And I'll do that," the Doctor replied, sitting on the bed. "But we need to set some rules of our own."

Robyn nodded. "Yeah, I thought we might."

"That temporal disturbance is quite close," he mused. "Inside the upstairs flat, I'd say." He frowned. "And if it is, then we both have to be on the look out."

"And by both of us, you mean me, most of all," Robyn replied, sighing a little. "Because I'm only a kid, I have to be the most careful."

The Doctor put his arm around her shoulders. "That's right."

"Still doesn't mean I can't help," she said. "I'm not completely useless, you know."

"And you can help by staying out of trouble."

Robyn grinned. "Badly?"

"Yes." He pulled her into a hug. "We can stay out of trouble... badly, together."

Robyn hugged him back, then sat on the bed beside him. The springs squeaked a little, but she didn't mind. She was happy that they had a place to stay, and it would be fun to get to know Craig. Still... she missed Amy, and the TARDIS, and she was certain that the Doctor missed them too. The quietness of the room felt strange, after living in the TARDIS so long. It was... unsettling, to say the least. But that wasn't all, not by a long shot. There was a temporal disturbance right above their heads, and it was up to them to shut it down so the TARDIS could land. "We should contact Amy," she reminded him. "Get a feel for how the TARDIS is coping."

"Yes," the Doctor agreed. "I was just about to do that." He flopped onto his back, then turned his earpiece on, which Robyn did as well. "Earth to Pond," he said. "Earth to Pond. Come in, Pond."

Back on the TARDIS, Amy skirted around the console, picking up the microphone that was hooked up to it. "Doctor!" she bellowed, and both Robyn, and the Doctor's, earpieces screeched in protest.

"Could you not wreck my new earpiece, Pond?" the Doctor cried testily.

"Or my hearing?" Robyn added, rubbing her ear and wincing from the pain.

Amy cringed. "Oo, sorry."

"It's okay, it's not like I actually need to be able to hear things," Robyn grumbled.

"I _said_ I was sorry!"

"That's enough, you two," the Doctor interrupted, intending to nip any arguments in the bud before they got out of hand. "Now is _not _the time for petty arguments about thing that aren't important."

"Except when they are," said Robyn.

The Doctor sighed. "Except when they are," he repeated. "But this time they're not, so forget about it." He paused, then decided to change the subject. "How's the TARDIS coping?" he asked.

Amy's voice crackled through the earpieces. "See for yourself," she replied, then held up the microphone so the Doctor and Robyn could hear the wheezing and grinding through their earpieces.

"Oo, nasty. She's locked in a materialisation loop, trying to land again, but she can't."

"And whatever's stopping her is upstairs in that flat," Amy replied, clearly annoyed with him. "So, go upstairs and sort it!"

"Not that simple," Robyn interrupted. "We can't risk going up there."

The Doctor nodded. "I don't know what it is yet," he said, standing on the bed and listening through the ceiling. "Anything that can stop the TARDIS from landing is big. Scary big."

"Wait... are you scared?" asked Amy, sounding a little unsure of things herself.

"I can't go up there until I know what it is, and how to deal with it," he continued, ignoring the question. "And it is vital that this... man upstairs doesn't realise who, and what, I am. So no sonicking. No advanced technology; I can only use this 'cause we're on scramble. To anyone else hearing this conversation, we're talking absolute gibberish," he finished, jumping off the bed onto the floor.

Robyn sniggered. "Which in his case means we'll actually be able to understand him for a change."

"That'd definitely be a change," Amy replied.

The Doctor scowled at his daughter, but pressed on. "All I've got to do is pass as an ordinary human being," he said, fiddling with a tube of... something... that had been left on the bookcase. "Simple. What could possibly go wrong?" He picked up a pair of sunglasses and put them on, appraising his reflection in the mirror opposite.

"Loads of things could go wrong," Robyn replied, crossing her legs beneath her.

"Have you seen you?" Amy agreed.

"So, you're just gonna be snide?" the Doctor asked, addressing the question to both girls. "No helpful hints?"

Amy walked around the console, thinking of an appropriate response. "Hmm, well, here's one," she said, picking up a stethoscope. "Bow-tie. Get rid."

The Doctor took off the sunglasses and put them in his pocket, then walked away from the mirror. "Bow-ties. Are. Cool,"

Robyn grinned. "Sorry, Amy," she said. "Have to agree with Dad on that one."

"Come on, Amy," he implored, walking over and flipping through a book that was lying on top of the bookcase. "I'm a normal bloke. Tell me what normal blokes do."

"They... watch telly, they play football, they go to the pub!"

"I could do those things. I don't, but I could."

Robyn started to make another suggestion, but stopped short when a loud banging filled the air, and she heard Amy cry out in alarm as the TARDIS suddenly started to shake again. She looked at her watch, then showed it to the Doctor. "My watch is going nuts, Dad!" she exclaimed.

He frowned, looking at the faces of all the other timepieces, including his own, that were in the room. "Interesting. Localised time loop."

"What's all that?" Amy yelled, as the TARDIS threw her about.

"Time distortion," the Doctor explained. "Whatever's happening upstairs is still affecting you."

Almost as soon as it started, the banging ceased, and the TARDIS's mad shaking slowed. "It stopped... ish," said Amy, bracing herself against the console. "How about your end?"

The Doctor looked at his watch again. "Mine's good," he replied.

"We're fine here," added Robyn.

"So," Amy continued. "Doesn't _sound _great, but... nothing to worry about?"

From the expression on the Doctor's face, there obviously _was_ something to worry about, but at least with Amy currently only a voice in their ears, it was easier to mask just how serious that _something_ was. He sat on the bed. "No... no, no, just keep the zigzag plotter on full, that'll protect you."

Amy did as she was told, adjusting the zigzag plotter as the Doctor had instructed. However, once she'd done it, the console emitted a plume of smoke straight into her face. "Ugh," she groaned in disgust.

"Amy, I said the zigzag plotter!"

"I _pulled _the zigzag plotter!" Amy cried in exasperation.

The Doctor stood. "Were you standing with the door behind you?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, take two steps to your..." The Doctor mimed pulling levers, then stepped to the side. "Right, and pull it again."

Once again, Amy did as she was told, but this time the TARDIS stabilised. She sighed with relief, scratching her head.

"Now," the Doctor continued. "I must not use the sonic. I've got work to do; need to pick up a few items." Before Amy could respond, he turned his earpiece off, then did the same to Robyn's. "And you, young lady, need to get some sleep," he said. "At least here you'll be able to sleep in a bed tonight."

Robyn frowned. "Won't you need help to bring stuff inside?"

"No, I'll be fine. You go to bed."

"All right, but you better be here when I wake up!"

The Doctor ruffled her hair. "I will be," he replied. "Don't you worry about me."

As she watched him leave, Robyn couldn't help feeling a sense of dread. Something was happening in that upstairs flat, and it was so bad, even the Doctor was scared, and that felt _wrong_ somehow. She started to get ready for bed, but until the time distortion was fixed, and she was back inside the TARDIS, Robyn was sure she wouldn't sleep a wink that night.

The Doctor may have been scared, but _she_ was _terrified_.

**OoOoOoOoO**

But while the Doctor, Robyn, and Amy, were catching up and making plans of their own, Craig, suspicious about his new tenants, had called Sophie to tell her all about the strange afternoon he'd had since she left. He had the paper bag resting on his stomach as he lay in bed, and he inspected the notes carefully, trying to work out if there was anything odd about them.

"Oh, I mean, he seems a laugh," he told Sophie. "If a bit weird. Good weird, you know?"

However, Sophie was sceptical. "And he just happens to have three grand with him in a paper bag?"

"Yeah."

"Wait... wait... the _Doctor!_ Craig, what if he's a _dealer_?"

But Craig didn't believe this. "Nah, he seems harmless enough," he replied. "Besides, he's got a kid with him. Says she's his daughter."

"Like that would make any difference," said Sophie, still not convinced.

Craig shook his head. "Nah, I think everything will be okay." He smiled to himself. "You should've been here when they turned up!" He went on to describe the Doctor's appearance in great detail, from his tweed jacket, right down to his blue bow-tie.

"A bow-tie, are you serious?" she asked incredulously.

Just then, Craig heard someone talking in the next room. It sounded like the Doctor talking to his daughter, but neither of them actually sounded like they were saying anything that made sense. At one point he even made out something like "Descartes, Lombardy Spiral," which did really sound like anything at all.

But amidst all the activity going on _inside_ the flat, no one was paying attention to what was going on _outside_. A young woman, make up smudged and running down her face, her hair and clothes disheveled, was walking past on her way home. She was upset, because she'd had a bad night out. Her boyfriend had dumped her, and now all she wanted to do was to get away. She didn't want to be there anymore, because it was too painful to stand being anywhere she might run into _him_ again.

"Hello?" a voice called from the intercom. "Stop, please, I need your help."

The young woman looked at the intercom, unsure how to respond.

"Please," the voice begged. "My little girl's hurt."

_Well, if a little girl need help, then it must be okay to go inside... wasn't it?_ the young woman thought to herself, approaching the front door and going inside. She was greeted by the sight of a man at the top of the stairs, his hand on the banister. The lights were flickering madly, so it was hard to make out his face, but she was sure he was probably worried about his daughter.

"I'm so sorry, but will you help me please?" the man asked again, as the young woman gingerly walked up the stairs.

The young woman looked up at him suspiciously. "Help you?"

But the man didn't reply.

And like the young man who walked up the stairs earlier that day...

The young woman did not come back.

**OoOoOoOoO**


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

The next morning, Robyn awoke to find the Doctor sitting at the foot of the bed, and a pile of junk in the corner of the room. She remembered him saying he needed to pick up a few things, but what he'd brought back was absolutely ridiculous! Enough wire to sink a ship, several oars, an umbrella... She couldn't work out for the life of her what he was going to go with them, but she hoped it would help them get the TARDIS back.

"Good morning," he greeted, smiling warmly.

"Morning, Dad." She giggled. "So, do I have to ask, or are you going to tell me what that stuff's for?" she said, nodding at the pile of junk.

The Doctor raised a finger to his lips, glancing up at the ceiling, then beckoned to her. "I'm going to build a scanner," he told her, keeping his voice low. "Something that will help me analyse what's going on upstairs without being detected."

Robyn cocked her head. "And how are you going to do that with a truckload of wire and some oars?" She grinned. "Among all the other pieces of junk you've brought with you."

"You'll see when it's finished."

"Will I get to help you build it, Dad?"

"Can't see why not," the Doctor replied. "I'll need the extra pair of hands." He stood, then smoothed the bedclothes where he'd been sitting on them. "Now, I'm going to go take a shower," he announced. "That's normal, isn't it?"

Robyn nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty normal." Her stomach growled, and the little girl blushed. "But aren't we going to have breakfast or something first?"

The Doctor sighed, then smiled. "Come on," he said, holding out his hand. "Let's get you fed. Can't have you wasting away while we're here, I suppose."

Half an hour later, while Robyn was eating her breakfast, Craig emerged from his room, and headed for the bathroom. But the Doctor was already in there, singing rather badly, and taking a shower. He knocked on the door. "Doctor?" he called.

"Hallo!" the Doctor called back.

"How long are you going to be in there?"

"Oh, sorry, I like a good soak!"

Craig was about to reply, when he heard a banging come from the upstairs flat. "What the hell's that?" he said, more to himself than to anyone else.

"What did you say?"

"I'm just going to go upstairs; see if he's okay."

"Sorry?" the Doctor replied, unable to hear what Craig was talking about over the sound of the water. He pulled back the shower curtain. "What did you say?"

But Craig was already on his way out, worried about the man upstairs. What if he was hurt? What if he was _dead_? There were so many frightening possibilities that he couldn't keep them all straight in his head. And what kind of neighbour would he be if he just left it alone? Not a very good one; _that_ was for certain.

Robyn looked up from her breakfast just as he entered the room. "Morning Craig," she greeted, before spooning another mouthful of cereal into her mouth. "Where you going?" she asked.

"Upstairs," he replied dismissively. "Just going to check if he's okay."

"Oh, okay. If that's all."

She turned to her attention back to her meal, while Craig continued on his way. He hadn't been gone very long, when Robyn realised what she had heard, letting her spoon fall into her bowl with a clatter. "He's going _upstairs!_" she yelped, jumping off her seat and racing to the bathroom. She pounded on the door. "Dad!" she cried. "Craig's going _upstairs!_" She heard a thud, then the sound of glasses being knocked together, then the bathroom door opened, and the Doctor came racing out, wearing nothing but a towel. Which he promptly lost as he ran. Robyn quickly covered her eyes, and the Doctor picked the towel up again, wrapping it around his waist. "I didn't need to see that," she said ruefully, following him out into the hall... just as Craig came _down_ the stairs!

"What happened, what's going on?" the Doctor asked quickly, brandishing, of all things, an electric toothbrush!

"Is that my toothbrush?" Craig replied, with a laugh.

The Doctor looked at the toothbrush, realising his mistake. He must've picked it up instead of the sonic after he fell out of the shower! "Correct," he said breathlessly. "You spoke to the man upstairs."

"Yeah."

"What did he look like?"

"More normal than you do at the moment, mate," Craig replied. "What are you doing?"

Robyn blushed. "Ah, that's my fault, sorry..." she began.

"We thought you might be in trouble," the Doctor added, finishing her thought.

Craig laughed. "Thanks," he said. "Well, if I ever am, you can come and save me with my toothbrush."

Just then, the telephone rang back inside the flat, so Craig went to answer it. The Doctor started to walk up the stairs, trying to think about why Craig had managed what no one else had. Something was strange about the 'man' living upstairs, something he just couldn't put his finger on.

Robyn noticed the front door open first. "Uh, Dad?" she said, as the young woman, the one they saw coming out of the very house they now lived in, entered the hallway.

Not expecting to see Craig's new flatmate so soon, or in such a state of undress, Sophie gasped when she saw the Doctor. "Hello," she said nervously.

The Doctor jumped, nearly falling over, but he caught himself in time. "Hello!" he returned, adjusting the towel. "The Doctor. Ah... You must be Sophie." He walked over and kissed the air either side of her face, repeating the greeting he used on Craig, much to Robyn's amusement, then headed back inside the flat.

Robyn smiled, and gave the newcomer a small wave. "I'm Robyn," she said. "And that's my dad."

"That's your _dad_?"

"Yeah. He doesn't usually... ah... wander around like that, but..." She blushed. "We thought there was an emergency, so..." She trailed off, then turned and walked back into the flat. Sophie followed the little girl, walking into the flat in time to hear Craig and the Doctor discussing the subject of the telephone call, then went into the kitchen to put the bottle of milk she brought into the refrigerator.

"We've got a match today," said Craig. "Pub league. We're one down if you fancy it?"

The Doctor looked confused for a moment. "Pub league? A drinking competition?"

"No... football... play football?"

"Football... Football!" Now he knew what Craig was talking about. "Blokes play football! I'm good at football, I think."

Craig grinned. "You saved my life!" he exclaimed, returning to his phone call. As he hung up, he looked at Sophie and smiled. "Hey Soph," he greeted.

"Hey," she replied, as the Doctor went to the kitchen. "Thought I'd come early and meet your new flat mate."

The Doctor took the bottle of milk from the fridge. "Do you play, Sophie?" he asked, opening the bottle and taking a generous swig.

Craig laughed. "No, Soph... ah... just stands on the sidelines," he replied, answering for her. "She's my mascot."

Sophie frowned. "I'm your mascot?" she asked, feeling slightly offended. "Mascot?"

An awkward feeling fell over the group, and no one said anything for a moment. Robyn wondered if she should say something to break the tension, maybe to tell the Doctor to get dressed, but nothing sprang to mind. Nothing that would make it feel less awkward, at any rate.

"Well, not my mascot," Craig stammered. "It's a football match, I can't take a date."

"I didn't say I _was_ your date," Sophie replied, confused by his choice of words.

"Neither did I."

Robyn smiled to herself, listening to the exchange. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that Craig liked Sophie, and she was pretty sure the Doctor could see it too. She thought about what he'd told her after they met Vincent Van Gogh. She'd made him tell her about Gallifrey, and the Time War, and the Daleks. As she listened to him, she gained a new respect for her father with each new story. But then she'd made him tell her about Rory, and what had happened to him, and why Amy couldn't remember him. After he told her, she'd wept for all the days that Rory would never see, the things he would never do.

But once she was finished, when she thought she was all cried out... she'd made him tell her about Rose.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Rose was the first person I met after... after the Time War," he said. "I'd just regenerated, and I was so, so... angry. With myself, with the Daleks... You name it, and I was angry with it.

"The day I met her, I'd tracked a signal to London. To her workplace, specifically. The Nestene Consciousness had set up shop somewhere, and I was looking for it, and I'd tracked the signal to the department store where she worked. When I got there, I found the night watchman had been killed, and she was about to be next. I grabbed her by the hand and told her to run... and she did. She ran, right into the lift with me, babbling about what she thought was happening.

"She thought it was a bunch of students, pulling a prank, but I knew better." The Doctor'd pulled a face here, as if he was disgusted with himself. "Like I always know better... anyway, when we got to the roof, I told her I was going to blow up the building, and then, even though I didn't understand why at the time... I asked for her name. Then I told to run for her life, and she did, again. Once of the rare times she listened to me, too.

"That wasn't the last time I saw her, though. One of the arms of the shop dummies that'd attacked her was still intact, and she'd brought it home with her. I didn't even know she'd kept it, until I traced a new signal to her flat."

"Then what happened?"

"Well, the arm tried to kill me, then it tried to kill her, but I managed to stop it. Then I left. I meant to get right out of her life, because I was going to find the Nestene Consciousness, and then spend the rest of my life travelling alone... but that didn't happen. She followed me, and I told her all this... stuff... about feeling the turn of the Earth, and falling through space, thinking it would frighten her enough to leave me alone, but it just made her more interested in learning about me."

At this point, Robyn hadn't been sure whether to ask the Doctor to stop, or to let him continue, but something about the story made her want to hear more, so she held her tongue.

"It took her boyfriend, Mickey, you know," he continued. "The Nestene Consciousness, I mean. Made a copy of him to try and make her tell him about me, but it didn't work. Then I showed up and sorted him out, saving her life again in the process." He sighed. "Do you really want to know all this?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Are you sure about that?"

"I want to know what makes you _you_, Dad. So I want to know about _her_."

He nodded. "All right, all right." He frowned. "Now where was I...? Ah... I remember. The Nestene Consciousness had copied Rose's boyfriend, and when I showed up, he was about to kill her, but I saved her. Even got his head, which was good, because I brought it back here to trace the signal to the Nestene's base, or at least, I did until it melted. She came with me, just walked straight inside, then walked straight out again. She'd known since she first met me that I was... different, even dangerous, and seeing what had happened to Mickey proved it. But she wasn't scared off. Far from it.

"She worked out where the Nestene was, you know. It was under the London Eye, using the wheel to send out the signal through the city. We stopped it, then I asked her to travel with me. She refused, saying her mother, and Mickey, needed her there with them." He looked at Robyn sadly. "In hindsight, she probably would've been better off if she stayed. But then I told her it could travel in time."

"So she came with you."

"For two years, relative time. And somewhere during that time... she fell in love with me. Then I changed my face on her, and she had to do it all over again."

A sad smile played on his lips, and Robyn knew, somehow, that he'd loved her too.

"She was going to give up her family for me, in the end," the Doctor continued. "And she would've done it... and I would've let her."

"But that didn't happen."

The Doctor shook his head. "No, it didn't. She got trapped in a parallel universe, and I couldn't get her back without making both universes collapse. So I burnt up a sun to say goodbye. That was when she told me she loved me..."

"You loved her too, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"But if she was human, like me..."

"That's why we couldn't be together. Not the way she wanted, or deserved."

Robyn frowned. Something sounded awfully fishy. "But she did stay trapped, did she?" she asked. "She came back?"

He nodded. "When there were planets in the sky. When the Daleks invaded Earth. The walls of reality crumbled, and that gave her a way to come back. I was happy to see her, obviously. I was... so blindly in love, that I didn't even blink when she told me she built a Dimension Cannon, and had been shooting herself into parallel universes trying to find me.

"So, then we saved the world again, and all of reality to boot... and then I had to send her back to the parallel universe. She couldn't stay with me, even though she wanted to... even though _I_ wanted her to. By the end of it, I'd been cloned, and it was too dangerous to let my... double roam about the universe on his own. And he was half human."

"He could stay with her, when you couldn't," Robyn said sadly.

"Exactly. And she had her mother in the parallel universe, and that universe's version of her father, and her little brother. I knew, if I told her I loved her... that I _still_ loved her... she would've left them. So I left her, and my clone, there. She could have the best of both worlds."

"But she didn't have you..." Robyn whispered, tears springing to her eyes. "And you won't see her again!"

"That where you're wrong," the Doctor replied, tapping her on the nose. "Because I'll always have her in here," he patted her head, "and in here," he finished, patting her chest her heart was.

OoOoOoOoO

OoOoOoOoO

Of course, the awkwardness was still in the air, as the Doctor left to get dressed. Robyn shook her head, trying to clear away the tears that had sprung to her eyes when she remembered when he'd talked about Rose, and she looked up just as Craig was telling her father where the extra football uniform was.

"Bit of a mess," said the Doctor, using that as a half-decent excuse to keep him out.

Once he was gone, Craig turned to Sophie. "What d you think?"

"You didn't say he was gorgeous," she gushed.

Suddenly the Doctor stuck his head out of the bedroom door, realising something odd. "You unlocked the door. How did you do that?" he said. "Those are your keys, you must have left them the last time you came here."

Sophie looked at him in surprise. "Yeah, but I... How do you know these are my keys?"

Craig suddenly felt very, _very_, embarrassed. "I've been holding them," he admitted.

Sophie looked at him strangely, then looked at the Doctor again. "I've got another set," she said, holding up the extra set of keys.

"You've got two sets of keys to someone else's house?" the Doctor replied, finding this suspicious, yet very telling.

"Yeah."

The Doctor smiled wryly. "I see. You must like it here too." He headed back inside the bedroom, and finished drying off, then found the spare football uniform and started to put it on. And while he was doing this, he decided it was time to contact Amy again so she knew what was going on. "So, I'm going out," he announced after he turned the earpiece on. "If I hang about the house all the time, him upstairs might get suspicious." He realised he was putting his shirt on backwards, and turned it around. "Notice me."

"Football. Okay, well done, that _is_ normal," Amy said dryly, trying to entertain herself with a magnifying glass.

"Yeah, Football," the Doctor replied. "All outdoorsy." He tugged at his collar. "Now, football's the one with the sticks, isn't it?"

Amy sighed. "No, that's _cricket_. Football's the one where you kick a ball around... with your _foot_."

"Oh, right. Of course it is. I must've deleted what I knew about football to make room for facts about Malograad."

"_What?_"

"Don't worry, it'll soon come back to me. It usually does." Just then, there was a knock on the bedroom door. "Hold on, I've got to go," said the Doctor moving to answer it. "That might be Craig and I don't want him to find out what I'm working on in here." Before she could respond, the Doctor turned off his earpiece and opened the door. He found Robyn standing on the other side, looking quite annoyed with him.

"Can I come in?" she asked. "I want to get dressed too, you know, and I can't do it when you, and my clothes, are in here."

"Ah... yes... go on then," the Doctor replied, letting her in.

Robyn quickly walked into the bedroom, then grabbed the bag with her new clothes, then looked at her father expectantly. "Well?"

"Well what?"

"Aren't you going to give me a few minutes alone?" Robyn replied. "You know, so I can get dressed?"

"Oh! Right! Yes, I'm going... I'll wait outside for you."

Robyn smiled. He was obviously not used to this at all! "I'll be out in a bit," she said, pushing him out of the room and closing the door behind him. Now that she was alone, she picked up the satchel and plonked it on the bed, then opened it, taking out a pair of jeans, a tee-shirt, a pair of new socks, and one of her new pairs of shoes. She'd been amazed that the Doctor had managed to pick out the right sizes for her, but then again, he _had_ told her he'd been a parent once, so maybe he could tell would fit and what wouldn't just by looking? With a sigh, she quickly changed, then grabbed her jacket. "Don't want to catch a cold or something," she said to herself. "Dad's got enough to do without me getting sick, and I don't know how it could affect him."

"Robyn," the Doctor called through the door. "Are you ready yet?"

"Yes, I'm ready," she called back, putting the satchel away. She came out of the bedroom. "Are we going now?"

"Just about. We're waiting for Craig, and then we can go."

**OoOoOoOoO**

"What are you really called?" Craig asked when they got to the park. "What's your proper name?"

Of course, this seem like a complete 'no-brainer' to Robyn. It was obvious that Craig and the rest of his teammates should just call him 'The Doctor' and be done with it, but then she realised something odd. She'd spent so much time with him, and since the adoption, she'd considered herself _his_ daughter, more or less, yet she didn't even know his real name! He hadn't even told her when she got him to tell her about Gallifrey and all the rest of that part of his life.

"Just call me the Doctor."

Robyn smiled. "Yeah. Besides 'The Doctor' is a good a name as any."

But Craig wasn't convinced. "I can't go up these guys and say 'Hey guys, this is my new flat mate, he's called the Doctor'," he protested.

"Why not?" the Doctor replied.

"Cause it's _weird!_"

They'd reached the rest of the football team now, the captain noticing them immediately. "All right, Craig. Soph," he greeted. He nodded at the Doctor and Robyn. "All right, mate. Hey, kid."

The Doctor and the captain shook hands. "Hello, I'm Craig's new flat mate," he said, kissing the air on either side of the man's face, much to his surprise. "I'm called the Doctor."

"All right, Doctor," the captain replied. "I'm Sean. So where you strongest?"

"Arms," the Doctor said automatically, and Robyn burst out laughing, since she'd been holding it in ever since he'd kissed the air again. "What?"

She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to stifle her giggles. "Nothing, Dad, private joke."

Craig looked at both of them strangely, then sighed and shook his head. "No," he said. "He means what position? On the field?"

The Doctor frowned. "Not sure. The front? The side? Below?"

Sean was quiet for a moment, unsure whether the Doctor was joking, being serious, or that Craig had brought a complete nutter with him. "Are you any good, though?" he asked, feeling a little worried by now.

"Let's find out," the Doctor replied, running onto the field and kicking the ball he'd been holding into the air. He joined the rest of the team, doing a few maneuvers to warm up before the game. Exactly as he thought, and told Amy, his memories pertaining to football, and the skills that came with them soon returned.

"We'll put him midfield," said Sean, looking rather impressed. "With you, Craig."

Craig nodded, trusting Sean's judgment, but silently hoping that the Doctor didn't do anything to make him look bad in front of Sophie. He may not have been the best football player, but he wasn't exactly the worst, so it would be absolutely humiliating if he got shown up by someone he barely known a couple of days.

Soon the match was ready to start, and all of the team, including Craig and the Doctor, got into formation. Robyn couldn't remember the last time she'd been so excited... well, other than the first time she saw the TARDIS. She hadn't been to a football match before, even if it _was_ just a pub league match, and she was excited to see how the Doctor fared. "GOOD LUCK, DAD!" she called, and the Doctor looked over, grinning back. While she had his attention, she blew him a kiss, then blushed when she realised how silly she was acting.

The whistle blew, and Craig kicked the ball to the Doctor. Taking possession of the ball, he raced down the field, ducking and weaving between the opposition, directing the ball towards the Rising Sun's goal area.

Sophie grinned. "That's not bad!"

Robyn watched intently, bouncing on her toes as she tried to keep sight of her dad. She couldn't stop smiling, nor did she want to, because she was having so much fun. "Go Dad!"

"Yes! Go!" Sophie cheered.

The Doctor and Craig passed the ball between them now, still maneuvering towards the goal. "One, two! One, two!" Craig called, trying to let the Doctor know there was a chance to pass the ball back, but the Doctor ignored him.

"Come on, Doctor!" Sophie called. "Come on, Doctor!"

Entering the goal area, the Doctor kicked the ball... and scored!

Robyn cheered, then joined Sophie chanting, "Doctor! Doctor!"

Craig looked over at them while everyone else was preoccupied by celebrating the Doctor's goal, annoyed that he was playing better than he was, but that Sophie was so impressed by him.

Catching his eye, Sophie smiled. "You're brilliant, you're amazing!" she called, saluting him.

He nodded, then the team went back into formation. As he prepared to kick the ball, he heard Sophie yell "Come on, Craig, show them what you've got!", but kept his concentration completely on the task at hand. He lined up with the ball, preparing to take the shot... then the Doctor suddenly came from nowhere, kicking the ball and getting another goal!

The Doctor was ecstatic. "I _love_ this game!" he cried, getting up from the grass.

The game continued, and the Doctor soon became the man of the match, scoring goal, after goal, after goal. There was no stopping the Time Lord, giving his audience, and his teammates, a game to be proud of. The only one that wasn't impressed however, was Craig. Not that the Doctor realised it at all, he was too engrossed in the match. By the end, Sophie and Robyn were leading the crowd, chanting "Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor!" at the top of their lungs.

But there were things going on back at home. Bad things.

And the man upstairs claimed yet another victim.

**OoOoOoOoO**


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

After the match, whom the King's Arms had won, largely thanks to the Doctor's efforts, the whole team gathered together to celebrate their win. They milled around a bench, waiting for Sean to come back with the cans of lager, taking a well earned rest. Sophie walked over to join them, but Robyn ran ahead, wanting nothing more than to be able to hug her father and congratulate him for the amazing game he played. When he saw the little girl running towards him, the Doctor straightened and caught her in his arms, hugging her tightly.

"You were _great_, Dad!" Robyn said gleefully.

The Doctor grinned. "I was, wasn't I?"

Just then Sean came back carrying a plastic bag. "You are so on the team," said he eagerly, handing out the drinks. "Next week we've got the Crown and Anchor. We're going to _annihilate _them!"

Hearing this, the Doctor's face darkened. "Annihilate?" he asked, not waiting for an answer before saying, "No, no violence, do you understand me? Not while I'm around, not today, not _ever_. I'm the Doctor, the Oncoming Storm -" He frowned, realising that he was misinterpreting him. "And you basically meant beat them in a football match, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

The Doctor smiled. "Lovely. What sort of time?"

Then things started to go strange. Craig opened his can of beer, spraying it in his face. Everyone turned to look at him, laughing at his misfortune, which was relatively normal... until it happened again.

And again.

And again.

Robyn looked at the Doctor in confusion. "Is this another time loop, Dad?"

"I'd say so," he replied, taking her by the hand and leading her away. "Turn on your earpiece," he instructed, turning on his own. "But don't say anything unless I speak to you."

"Right," said Robyn, nodding reluctantly. The sound of the TARDIS jolting and shaking filled her ears, and she desperately wanted to say something, but she knew the Doctor needed to make sure Amy stayed close by.

The Doctor furrowed his brow in concentration. "Amy?" he said. "Amy?

"It's happening again," Amy replied, struggling to keep her footing. "Worse!"

"What does the scanner say?"

Amy grabbed the bar underneath the scanner and pulled herself up so she could take a look. "A lot of nines," she replied. "Is it good they're all nines? Tell me it's good they're all nines!"

The Doctor paused for a moment, and Robyn knew from the look on his face that all nines was _not_ good at all. "Yes, yes," he said at last. "It's... it's good." He shook his head. "Zigzag plotter," he reminded her. "Zigzag plotter, Amy."

Amy did as she was told, adjusting the zigzag plotter and checking the scanner to see if there was any change. But nothing was happening, the zigzag plotter was taking too long to stabilise the TARDIS, and she screamed as the shaking swept her off her feet, the only thing keeping her from falling was the bar underneath the scanner.

"Amy?" the Doctor asked, the worried look on his face intensifying. "Are you there?"

Finally, the zigzag plotter kicked in, and everything went still.

"Amy?"

"Yes, hello!" Amy replied, sighing with relief.

"Ah, thank heavens. I thought for a moment the TARDIS had been flung off into the vortex with you inside it. Lost forever." He let out a low whistle, relieved that they'd dodged the bullet.

Amy stared at the bell of the gramophone, eyes wide. She couldn't _believe_ what she was hearing. "What, you mean that could actually happen?" she asked. "You have _got_ to get me out of here!"

"How are the numbers?" the Doctor shot back, trying to take her mind off the bombshell he just dropped.

Amy checked the scanner. "All fives," she told him.

"Fives?" The Doctor glanced back at Craig, Sophie, and the rest of the football team, noting that they were not looping any more. "Even better. Still, it means that the effect's almost unbelievably powerful and dangerous, but don't worry. Hang on, okay?" He remembered the stuff that needed to be worked on back at the flat. "I've got some rewiring to do."

But Amy wasn't about to let him go that easily. "Hey! _You_..." She shook her head, when she realised he was gone. "Hang on..."

Time was flowing properly again, but that didn't stop Robyn from feeling shaken as she turned her earpiece off. What _was_ causing the time loops? Why were they concentrated so close to Craig's flat? Was the Doctor going to be able to fix it?

Sensing her worry, the Doctor rest his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm worried about Amy," she admitted. "And about the TARDIS." She looked up at him sadly. "Are they really going to be flung into the time vortex if we don't fix the time distortion?"

"They could," he replied, his face looking tired and withdrawn. "But we're not going to let that happen."

Robyn nodded. "Of course not," she agreed. "And you've got all that stuff to build a scanner with." She looked at him pointedly. "You said I could help."

"So I did." The Doctor thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way Robyn could still help him, but keep out of danger. There _was_ a cat hanging around, and he'd been meaning to recruit a spy. The cat seemed like the best possible choice, since it was more likely to come back than anything else he could think of. "There's _one_ thing you can do," he said, rumpling her hair affectionately. "And it's very important."

"What is it?"

The Doctor smiled. "Do you like cats?"

"Why?" Robyn replied, looking at him suspiciously. "Are we going to get one after we've sorted out this mess?"

"No, but I am going to need you to find me one," the Doctor replied. "There's a cat that hangs around outside near Craig's flat, and I think it _just_ might be able to help us."

**OoOoOoOoO**

Later that day, the Doctor and Robyn were hard at work, building the scanner. It was coming along quite nicely, even though Robyn couldn't figure out how it was supposed to work. The oars had been set into an axis, and each of them had a watch hanging from them. Robyn assumed this was to measure the distortion, but she wasn't certain. The Doctor's scanner... thing... was still just a pile of junk, but now it was a well organised pile of junk. .

"Do you want me to go find that cat now, Dad?" she asked. "I think heard it, a little while ago."

The Doctor picked up a traffic cone, then went to the window and peeked out. "It's still fairly light out," he said. "Go on, then. Find that cat, and bring it inside so I can talk to it."

"Why do you need to talk to it?"

"I'm going to ask it if it can go upstairs for us," the Doctor replied. "We need to know what's going on up there, but I can't go up there myself in case I get myself killed, and that wouldn't do at all, now would it?" He frowned. "Because I don't want Amy and the TARDIS stuck in the vortex forever, and I don't want to leave you alone."

Robyn nodded slowly. She understood the Doctor's reluctance, and she also understood how learning what was going on upstairs was vitally important. Thinking about the Doctor's instructions, she realised that sending a cat upstairs was safer than sending a person. "And it'll tell us what's happening, so we... well, you... can fix it?"

"That's the idea. But I need to do some rewiring first, so this works properly," said the Doctor, gesturing at the scanner with the traffic cone. "I mean, the way everything is now, it _does_ work, but we're going to need to make this work _better_." Just then there was a knock on the door. "Hmm, I suspect that'll be Craig," he mused. "Wait here." He moved to the bedroom door, opening it quickly, and sure enough, Craig was standing in the doorway. "Hello... flatmate," he said evenly.

"Hey, man," Craig replied hesitantly. "Listen, Sophie's coming round tonight... and I was wondering if you could give us some... _space_?"

But the Doctor knew it important that he stayed. "Oh, don't mind me," he replied. "You won't even know I'm here." A loud bang came from the upstairs flat, and both he and Craig looked up. "That's the idea." Without giving Craig the chance to respond, the Doctor shut the door just as quickly as he opened it. He looked over at Robyn, who was just putting the finishing touches to the scanner. He grinned. "Yes, perfect!" he exclaimed. "What a beauty!"

Robyn laughed. "So, now this is sorted, do you want me to find that cat now?"

The Doctor nodded. "Go on. I'll get started on the rewiring."

She jumped down from her perch, then left the Doctor to his own devices, but she quickly returned, realising there was something she needed. "If I'm going outside," she said. "I'll need the house keys, Dad." She held out her hand expectantly, waiting patiently while her father fished them out of his jacket and gave them to her. "Thank you."

Now that she had the keys so she could let herself back into the flat, Robyn left the bedroom, and then the flat. As she stood in the hallway, she looked up the stairs, trying to keep her fear of the 'man' upstairs at bay. "I'm not scared," she murmured to herself. "I'm not scared, because I've got my Dad, and I'm not going to be scared of a staircase." She walked out the front door, and onto the footpath. She looked around, trying to see where the cat might be hiding. "Here, Puss, Puss, Puss," she called softly. "Here, Puss!"

As if on cue, a fairly large Siamese cat jumped onto the brick fence beside her, and started to sun itself, stretching out lazily. It must have been used to children, because it didn't even flinch when Robyn approached it, letting out a satisfied purr when she scratched behind its ears.

"My Dad wants to talk to you," she said, stroking the cat affectionately. "He's got a job for you, but I think he wants to explain what he wants you to do, in case you don't agree with it." She smiled. "But I think you'll say yes, because you won't be in any danger." She sighed. "I wish I could say the same for the rest of us." Patting the animal one more time, she looked at it carefully. "I'm going to pick you up now," she told it, "so please don't scratch me, or bite me, or anything like that."

The cat mewed as she moved to pick it up, and thankfully, it didn't scratch her or try to bite her, which she took as a good sign. She turned around gingerly, keeping as tight a grip on the animal as it would allow, then started to head back inside.

Then the intercom crackled into life. "Hello," came the voice, sounded aged, as if it were an elderly man speaking. "Can you help me?"

At first, the sudden presence of the voice surprised Robyn, and she stumbled, but she didn't drop the cat, to her relief. She stared at the intercom, wide eyed and fearful, unsure what to say, or whether she should respond at all. She assumed that this was the 'man' upstairs, but why was he talking to her? Why was he choosing this moment to try and contact her, when she and her father had been doing everything they could to mask their presence in Craig's flat?

"Can you help me?" the voice asked again, but this time Robyn knew what she was going to say.

"I... I... I can't," she stammered. "I have to... uh... feed my cat, and... and... I'm sorry, but I can't!" She lowered the cat, then waved it through the cat flap, quickly following it through the front door. Without looking up the stairs at all, she picked the cat up again, then went back to Craig's flat, not stopping for anything until she was back in the safety of the bedroom.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"That's got bigger," Sophie noted when she was sitting the living room with Craig later that evening.

And it was. The stain had been getting bigger and bigger with every new person that had gone up the stairs, but Craig had been so preoccupied with the Doctor, and all the strange things that had been going on since he and his daughter had turned up on his doorstep, that he hadn't noticed it until Sophie had mentioned it. "Oh yeah," he replied, looking up at the ceiling.

"Are we going out?"

Craig shook his head. "I've had a bit of a weird day," he said with a sigh. "Can we do pizza, booze, telly?"

Sophie smiled. "Great, love it. Wait," she replied, then picked up her phone and started to turn it off. "No Melina, no crises, no interruptions."

"Great... excellent." Craig's mouth went dry, and he knew this was his chance to speak up and tell Sophie how he felt about her. He shifted his position on the couch so he could look at her properly, and give her the full attention she deserved. "Um, Soph..." he began. "I've... I think..."

"Where's this going?" Sophie asked gently, trying to figure out what he wanted to say to her.

"I think that we... should..."

But before he could say anything more, the Doctor, with cables hanging around his neck, popped up from behind the couch. "Hello," he said quietly, startling both Sophie and Craig with his sudden appearance.

"_What?_" said Craig, surprised, and a little annoyed that he was still around.

"Oops, sorry," the Doctor whispered. "Don't worry, I wasn't listening." He pointed at the floor behind the couch with the screwdriver he held in his hand. "In a world of my own down there."

"I _thought_ you were going out?"

The Doctor shook his head. "I'm rewiring the electrics," he said, which in his mind was a valid excuse for his continued presence. "It's a _real_ mess." He held out the screwdriver. "Where's the on switch for this?"

Sophie looked at him strangely, but dismissed the comment as just one of those harmless little eccentricities and quirks some people tended to have.

But Craig was becoming more and more annoyed by his new flat mate's interruption. "He really_ is_ just on his way out," he said, addressing Sophie, but dropping the hint to the Doctor like a well placed anvil.

"No, I don't mind," Sophie replied, smiling weakly, and trying to keep things as civil as possible. "If you don't mind."

Craig closed his eyes, biting back his original response. He didn't _really_ want the Doctor to stay, but he would have to put up with him for a little while, because he knew if he didn't he'd probably upset Sophie, and he didn't want that at all. He took a deep breath, then smiled. "I don't mind, why would I mind?" he said, putting on a brave face.

"Then stay," Sophie continued. "Have a drink with us."

The Doctor looked uncertain. "What, do I have to stay now?" he asked hesitantly.

"Do you want to stay?" Craig replied, gritting his teeth.

"I don't mind."

Sophie smiled. "Okay."

"Great!" Craig exclaimed, not really sounding thrilled by this at all. He gone to all the trouble of telling the Doctor what was going on that night, so that he knew that he was supposed to clear out for a while, but the fact that he hadn't taken the hint meant that Craig's plans for the night had been ruined! He'd wanted to spend time with Sophie _alone_, not having the Doctor join them and taking all the attention for himself! The next thing he needed was for the Doctor's kid to show up and ruin the evening further.

Just then, right on cue, Robyn raced into the flat, a cat perched precariously in her arms. Without stopping to even say hello, she ran into the bedroom she shared with the Doctor, and slammed the door shut.

Seeing this, the Doctor frowned. "I'll be back in a minute," he said, standing up. "Need to have chat with Robyn about bringing strays home again, it seems."

Craig and Sophie watched carefully as he left, and Craig felt slightly relieved by the brief respite from his new flat mate's weird behaviour. Maybe now he might have the chance to tell Sophie how he felt about her, before the Doctor came back and ruined the evening again. He'd liked the Doctor in the beginning, but now he was really starting to get on his nerves.

Sophie frowned. "Are you sure you don't mind if the Doctor joins us?" she asked, noticing the expression on his face. "I mean, you _did_ want to stay in tonight."

"No, it's okay," Craig replied quickly. "I don't mind, _really_," he insisted. "Why do you think I don't?"

"Because you don't look very happy about it," said Sophie. "Don't you want the Doctor to stay?"

Craig paused, not wanting to admit that he didn't want the Doctor to stay, and in the end, said nothing. Instead, he went to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of wine from the pantry, and the bottle opener from the chest of drawers. Putting the wine, and the bottle opener, on the counter, he moved to the cupboards and found three wine glasses. He opened the bottle, then filled the glasses, bringing one over to Sophie, and placing one on the table next to the chair the Doctor would probably sit in. Once he was finished, he went back to the kitchen and grabbed the last glass of wine, then picked up the bottle, and went back to the couch and sitting next to Sophie once again.

The Doctor and Robyn returned now, and the pair of them walked to the front door. The little girl still held the cat in her arms, looking sullen, and Craig assumed that the Doctor had put his daughter in her place and told her she could not keep the cat, but didn't realise this was merely and act for his, and Sophie's benefit. Once the cat was gone, Robyn walked over to the coffee table, then sat on the floor in front of it, while the Doctor sat in the chair nearby.

"Sorry about that," he said, fiddling with a plug attached to one of the cables that hung from his neck. "She's always picking up strays..." He trailed off, realising something. "She gets it from me, unfortunately."

Sophie smiled. "I used to do that," she said. "Used to drive my mum and dad mental." She sighed, reaching out and stroking the little girl's hair. "Wish I could be a kid again, life seemed so much simpler when you're young."

"What makes you think like that?" the Doctor asked.

The question hung in the air, unanswered, and then almost immediately forgotten when the pizza arrived. Smelling the food as Craig brought it in, Robyn realised she was hungry, amazed that her brush with the 'man' upstairs hadn't completely wiped out her appetite. Half an hour later, after it was finished, the four of them sat in an awkward silence, briefly punctuated by the soft clicking and clacking the Doctor made while worked on the electrics. He decided to kick start the conversation. "So, what _does_ make you think being a kid again would be simpler?" he asked.

Thinking about it for a moment, Sophie shrugged. "Cause life seems so pointless, you know, Doctor?" she said. "Work, weekend. Work, weekend, and there's six billion people on the planet doing pretty much the same."

"Six billion people?" the Doctor echoed, raising his eyebrows. "Watching you two at work, I'm starting to wonder where they all come from."

Craig and Sophie looked at him confusion, wondering what prompted this strange remark. "What?" asked Sophie. "What do you mean by that?"

"So then," the Doctor continued, ignoring the question. "The call centre. That's no good then." He fiddled with another plug, this time the connecter for the video game controller he held in his hands. "What do you really want to do?"

Sophie blushed. "Don't laugh. I only ever told Craig about it."

Robyn grinned. "We won't laugh," she said. "What do you want to do?"

"I want to work looking after animals," Sophie admitted. "Maybe abroad? I saw this Orang-utan sanctuary on telly."

The Doctor nodded. "What's stopping you?" he asked, prompting her to elaborate.

"She can't," said Craig, smiling apologetically. "You need lots of qualifications."

Sophie nodded. "Yeah, true," she said sadly. "Plus, it's scary. Everyone I know lives round here. Like, Craig got offered a job in London. Better money, and didn't take it."

Craig frowned. "What's wrong with staying here?" he argued. "I can't see the point of London."

"Perhaps that's you then," the Doctor replied, looking up from his work. "Perhaps you'll just have to stay here, secure and a little bit miserable until the day you drop. Better than trying and failing, eh?"

"You think I'd fail?" Sophie asked, feeling slightly offended.

"Everybody's got dreams, Sophie. Very few are going to achieve them, so why pretend?" The Doctor drank a mouthful of wine, but mustn't have liked the taste, because he immediately spat it back into the glass. "Perhaps," he continued, ignoring the look of disgust Robyn shot him. "In the whole wide universe, a call centre is about where you should be."

Sophie scowled, now greatly offended by the Doctor's remarks. "Why are you saying that?" she asked angrily. "That's _horrible_!"

"Is it true?"

"Of course it's not true," Sophie insisted. "I'm not staying in a call centre all my life; I can do anything I want!" The Doctor looked up and smiled at her, a triumphant look on his face, and she realised what he was doing. "Oh!" she said in surprise. "Yeah! Right!" She gave Craig a nudge. "Oh my God! Did you see what he just did?"

But Craig was just confused. "No, sorry, what's happening? Are you going to live with monkeys now?"

"It's a big old world, Sophie," the Doctor replied sagely. "Work out what's keeping you here, eh?"

As Robyn listened to this, it almost sounded like her father was practically handing Craig an opportunity, but she could already tell that he wasn't going to take it. Now that the pizza had been eaten, and the wine had been (mostly) drunk, it was time for Sophie to go home.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Craig escorted Sophie out into the hall, not really looking forward to saying goodbye for the evening. "So," he said. "You going to be taking off then, seeing the world?"

"What?" Sophie replied. "Do you think I should?" she asked hesitantly, quietly hoping that Craig would ask her to stay with him.

But he didn't. "Yeah..." he said instead. Like the Doctor said, what's keeping you here?"

_I'd like _you_ to keep me here, you stupid, wonderful man,_ she thought to herself. "Yeah, exactly," she said aloud. "What?"

Craig nodded, then the pair reached out and hugged one another. "Bye," Sophie murmured, burying her head in his shoulder.

"See you," Craig replied as he let go. "See you in bit." He looked at Sophie longingly as she turned and walked away. As he went back into the flat, the lights started to flicker, but by then he was so used to it that he didn't think anything strange about it, but...

In reality, the flickering lights meant one thing, and one thing only...

The 'man' upstairs had found another potential victim.

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Robyn were getting ready to put the scanner to use. While Robyn had taken up position in the corner of the room, the Doctor had shucked his jacket and hung it from the hook on the door, and had taken his braces off his shoulders. He flicked a switch, and a blue light bathed the room. "Right, shields up," he said, flicking another switch and giving the oars a gentle push as the scanner burst into life. "Let's scan."

"What are you getting?" asked Amy, her voice crackling over the Doctor's earpiece.

The Doctor moved over to the digital clock that he'd cannibalised to use the display. "Upstairs, no traces of high technology," he replied. "Totally normal." He frowned, because he knew this didn't sound right at all. "No, no, no, no, no, it _can't_ be," he murmured. "It's _too_ normal."

Robyn flinched. "It that bad?"

"I don't know," the Doctor replied. "But there's _definitely_ something extremely very not good about it."

Amy sighed. "Only for you could too normal be a problem," she said with exasperation. "You said I could be lost forever, just go _upstairs!_"

The Doctor scowled. "Without knowing and get myself killed?" he countered, ducking underneath the oars and brooms as they turned on the scanner. "Then you really _are_ lost!" He shook his head. "If I could just get a look in there..." As the oar came around again, the Doctor thought of something. "Hold on," he said catching the watch attached to the oar. "Use the data bank. Get me the plans for this building. I want to know its history, the layout, everything. Meanwhile, I shall recruit a spy." He turned his earpiece off, leaving Amy to her task, but he continued to monitor the readouts on the scanner.

Robyn drew her legs underneath her chin. "Sorry about the thing with the cat earlier," she said. "Wish you'd had a chance to talk to it, but with Sophie here..."

"No, that's all right," the Doctor replied, checking the display on the clock again. "I managed to ask it to come back later before we had to let it go again, since it was a bit conspicuous having it in here with Craig still around."

"So you'll still be able to ask it to go upstairs for us?"

"Yes, I think so." He straightened, leaving the clock, and the rest of the scanner, alone for a second. "Now, are you going to tell me why you were so frightened when you came back?"

Robyn's face turned pale. She really didn't want to tell him what had happened out in the street, but it was going to have to come out eventually. "The... uh... the 'man' upstairs," she began, trying, and failing, to keep her voice even. "Whoever he is... he... um..." She shook her head, unable to bring herself to say it, because to her, that meant admitting it had happened.

The Doctor approached her, then crouched in front of her and took her hands in his own. "What happened?" he asked gently, rubbing her knuckles with his thumbs. "It's okay, you're safe here."

Robyn stared at him a few moments, not saying a word, then let go of her father's hands. She stood, putting her arms around the Doctor and hugging him tightly, because that was all she was prepared to do. She didn't want to tell him that the 'man' upstairs, if 'he' truly was a man, had nearly taken her as his next victim. She didn't want to admit to herself that she'd very nearly been taken in by the voice... that she'd almost believed that it was someone who needed her help.

She didn't want to admit to him, or to herself, that she'd almost had a moment of weakness.

"If you don't want to tell me," the Doctor said quietly. "Would you be brave enough to _show_ me?"

"Okay," Robyn replied, nodding slowly. She closed her eyes as he raised his hands and placed them on her face, feeling each digit as he spread them to her temples and the bridge of her nose. She smiled slightly when he pressed a light kiss to her forehead, then touched it with his own. She felt an overwhelming warmth inside her as their minds came together, and she shared the memories of her encounter with the 'man' upstairs freely, knowing that she was, at that point in time, completely safe while the Doctor was around.

Watching his daughter's memories, the Doctor frowned. This was an unforeseen development, but nothing that might hurt them in the long run. They'd have to be a bit more careful, and he'd have to make sure Robyn wasn't left alone in case the 'man' upstairs tried to take her again, but that was easy enough, since he wouldn't have any reason to go out the next day.

But out in the living room, as Craig started to clear away the wine glasses, he looked up at the rot. It _was_ rather big now, and he knew that he should have something done about it by now. He thought of the Doctor's warning, then scowled. "The Rotmeister..." he murmured, shaking his head in disbelief and reaching up to touch the rotten patch. As his finger tips brushed against it, a burning sensation passed through him and Craig gasped with pain, backing away from the rot and shaking his hand, as if that would be enough to make it better. Thoroughly fed up by now, he went to bed, hoping that everything, not to mention his fingers, would be better in the morning.

And he'd be wrong.

**OoOoOoOoO**


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

The next morning, the Doctor decided to try and make up for the previous evening, fixing breakfast for Craig, so he could bring it to him while he was still in bed. While he was working, Robyn came out of their bedroom, rather bleary-eyed. She had slept a little bit better after the Doctor had seen her memories but she couldn't stop thinking about what might have happened, and she hadn't gone to sleep until quite late. The Doctor looked up and smiled at her. "Good morning," he greeted.

"Morning, Dad," Robyn replied, clambering onto one of the seats behind the counter. "How come you're making breakfast today?"

"Well, Craig isn't up yet, and I wanted to make up for imposing on his plans with Sophie..."

"So you're making him breakfast in bed?"

The kettle whistled, and the Doctor set about making a pot of tea. "That's the general idea," he said, pouring water from the kettle into the teapot. "Hopefully it'll get us back into his good books, so he doesn't decide that we can't stay here any more."

Robyn frowned. "But we couldn't do that, could he?" she asked. "I mean, there's still something going on upstairs we need to sort out, and we can't do _that_ if Craig throws us out!"

"I know, which is why I've done this." He finished cooking, then put the food onto plates, setting one in front of Robyn, and then set the other with the rest of the things he'd put together on a tray to take in to Craig. "You eat, you'll need to keep your strength up after the fright you got last night."

"I ate last night!" Robyn protested.

"You had pizza last night, and that was hours ago." The Doctor put the tray down on the counter, and patted her on the head. "Eat now, and we'll talk about what we're going to do later." He left her to eat her breakfast, carrying the tray in front of him as he walked down the hall. "Craig?" he called, approaching his flat mate's bedroom door, then knocking on it with his elbow. "Craig? Breakfast, it's normal." He waited for a response, but didn't get one, and he started to get worried. "Craig?" When there was still no response, the Doctor knew it was time to act, kicking the door open.

He stepped into the room, and his eyes widened when he caught sight of Craig's form, unconscious, and deathly pale. "_Craig!_" he breathed, quickly putting the tray down on the end of the bed, and inspecting the thin grey line that was working its way up the unconscious man's arm. "Craig, I _told _you not to touch it!" he admonished, even though he knew Craig couldn't hear him. "Look, what's that? An unfamiliar, and pretty obviously poisonous substance." His voice was dripping with sarcasm by now. "Oh, I know what would be really _clever!_ I'll stick my _hand_ in it!"

The Doctor pushed Craig onto his back, then held his hands together and raised them above his head. "Come on, Craig, _breathe!_" he said urgently, bringing his hands down sharply and thumping his flat mate on his chest. Craig awoke, gasping for breath, but the Doctor knew he wasn't out of the woods yet. "Come on, Craig, breathe. Them's a healthy footballer's lungs!" He grabbed the teapot from the tray and raced into the kitchen.

Robyn was just finishing her breakfast when her father came in, brandishing the teapot in front of him. There was a sense of urgency in his movements, and she could tell that something was very, _very_, wrong. "Dad," she murmured, as she watched him dump more teabags into the pot and mutter something about reversing the enzyme decay and exciting the tannin molecules. "Is everything okay?"

"No," the Doctor shot back. "Craig touched the rot, and now it's killing him."

"_What?_" Robyn glanced up at the rot fearfully, and then jumped down from her chair. "Can I help?"

The Doctor shook his head, grabbing a used teabag from the rubbish bin and adding it to the pot. "No, not right now," he replied, pushing the teabags into the water with a wooden spoon. "Just keep away from the rot."

Robyn nodded. "Yes, Dad." She quickly followed him back to Craig's room, hovering in the doorway as she watched her father stir the tea with the wooden spoon. She gasped when she saw the state the poor man was in, all pale and sweaty, and near death. If this was what happened when you touched the rot... what was happening to make the rot appear in the first place?

"You've _got_ to drink this, Craig," the Doctor said quickly. "Your life depends on it. Come on, Craig, drink!"

Thankfully, Craig must've heard him this time, because now the tea gradually disappeared from the pot as he gulped it down. With each swallow, a little more colour came back to his cheeks, but it was obvious that he would still need to rest before he attempted to do anything too strenuous. "I've got to go to work," he croaked, between swallows.

"On no account," the Doctor replied gently. "You need rest." He lifted the teapot to Craig's lips again. "One more."

"It's the planning meeting," Craig protested. "It's important."

"_You're_ important."

"Is he going to be all right?" Robyn asked, peeking in from the doorway. "I mean, that tea's going to make him better?"

The Doctor nodded. "You're going to be fine, Craig," he said quietly, addressing Craig, and answering her question at the same time.

As Craig fell into a deep sleep, the Doctor tapped the excess tea from the wooden spoon, then took it back to the kitchen, Robyn following close behind. "What are we going to do now?" she asked. "I mean, wouldn't it be a bit weird if Craig didn't show up for work today without saying anything?" She frowned. "And he's got this planning meeting, whatever _that's_ about."

"Which is why I'm going to go in his place. I'll represent him, and do his presentation."

Robyn looked at him in surprise. "You're going to go and present his business model... thing?" she asked incredulously. "Have you even worked in a call centre before?"

"Have you?"

"Of course not," Robyn replied. "Eight year old, remember?"

The Doctor frowned. "Good point. Anyway," he continued, waving his hand dismissively. "We can't let all of his hard work go to waste, and I've got the psychic paper, so convincing everyone I'm his representative won't be too difficult, and it'll get me out of the house so the 'man' upstairs continues to believe I'm human."

"Which means I'll have to stay here and look after Craig," said Robyn, rolling her eyes. "Fantastic."

"You'll be fine," the Doctor replied with a laugh. "He'll probably sleep for the rest of the day, and you won't have to do anything at all." He grinned at her. "Besides, what could possibly go wrong?"

Robyn's face darkened. "Anything," she muttered. "And everything."

And she didn't realise how right she'd be.

**OoOoOoOoO**

It had been quarter past seven in the morning when the Doctor had found Craig near death, but it wasn't until quarter to three that he finally woke up. When he realised what time it was, Craig looked at the clock in horror. How on Earth had he slept so long? Somewhere in the back of his mind, he reasoned that it was the Doctor's fault, but that was the last thing on his mind as he quickly got out of bed and did everything he could to get ready for work. Even if he _was _late, he could still salvage the rest of the day with minimal damage, couldn't he?

Robyn was sitting in the living room, playing video games to pass the time, when Craig ran out of his room, and started to head out of the flat. She looked up at him in surprise, then jumped up and started to follow him. "What are you doing up?" she asked. "My Dad said you needed to rest!"

"I am _going_ to work," Craig growled. "No thanks to your Dad, wherever _he_ is."

"But you're not well!" Robyn exclaimed, trying to grab him and take him back inside. "You touched the rot and it nearly _killed_ you!"

Craig scowled. "Oh, I bet you'd like to me believe that," he said angrily. "But it's not going to work, because _everything's_ been going weird since the two of you showed up!"

Robyn flinched, since it was pretty much true wherever she went with the Doctor and Amy. There was always a planet, or a person, or a civilisation to be saved, monsters to be fought and beaten... lives that were lost in the midst of all the fighting. But this wasn't the time to think about all that. This was the time to be convincing Craig that he needed to go back to bed, but somehow she knew it wasn't going to work. Adults never believe kids; she'd learned that the hard way back at the orphanage, and Craig would not be the exception to the rule. Maybe that was why she'd taken to the Doctor so easily; he loved her like a _real_ father, and he acted like such a big kid all the time that it was impossible not to love him back.

"It still doesn't change the fact that you touched the rot," she argued. "And it poisoned you. You nearly _died_, and my Dad is the _only_ one who could save you." Her eyes turned cold. "You have no _idea _how many times he's saved me, including the day he adopted me."

But Craig wasn't going to be swayed by her arguments, and if he was surprised by the revelation that she was adopted, then he didn't show it. Letting out a disgusted noise, he began to head out of the flat again. Robyn ran after him, knowing full well the importance of keeping the older man there to rest and regain his strength. More importantly, if Craig left, then she would be left home alone, and she didn't trust herself to keep her head on straight if the 'man' upstairs tried to make contact with her again. She'd been lucky to get away, _once_, and she didn't like her chances of getting away again if she was left by herself. She chased after him, following him out to the street, hoping she could get there in time before he got in his car and drove off, but for a portly man, Craig moved pretty quickly, and he was already in his car, and about to turn the key in the ignition, when she got to the street.

"Haven't you been listening to me?" she yelled. "You. Were. _Poisoned!_ You need to rest so you can recover properly, and doing... well... _this_ isn't helping you get better!"

"I need to go to work!" Craig yelled back. "And save whatever's left of my job!" He turned the car key in the ignition, and his car sprung into life. "I can't _believe_ I slept that long!" he said to himself, as he drove away. "_How_ on Earth could I sleep that long?"

Now, Robyn was beside herself. She'd failed to stop Craig from leaving, and now she was going to be left alone with poisonous rot, and a 'man' upstairs who could attempt to convince her to help him, when she didn't even know what that _help_ might mean, at a moment's notice. And she was pretty sure if she _did_ go up there, who _knew _what might happen to her. She really wished she knew where the cat was, because then she'd at least have someone to talk to, but she wasn't sure whether it had done the job her Dad had asked it to do. "Don't panic," she said to herself. "Dad's at the call centre, and Craig will come right back when he finds Dad there. He's not going to be pleased when he finds out Dad did his presentation, though." She sighed and shook her head. "He's going to be absolutely livid!"

She breathed deeply, sitting down on the low brick fence. It seemed that talking to herself was helping her calm down, which was good. She was still a little bit frightened, but now the fear was easier to keep under control. As if it sensed her distress, the cat appeared, jumping on to the fence beside her. "Well, there you are," said Robyn, reaching out and stroking the cat's fur. "I was beginning to wonder where you'd got to." She smiled. "Did my Dad talk to you?" she asked it. "Did he tell you what he wants you to do for us?"

The cat purred, and rubbed its head against her leg, and Robyn took this as a 'yes'.

"Good," she replied, smiling again. "Because my Dad really needs to know what's up there, and we can't go ourselves, because it might be dangerous, and we won't be able to get our home back if we get killed." She thought about the TARDIS, trapped in the vortex, and looked down at the cat sadly. "I want to go home," she murmured. "I don't like it here, I miss my home, and I miss Amy." She closed her eyes, fighting back tears. "I don't want to stay here anymore, I want to go _home!_"

Immediately after she said this, the intercom burst into life.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Craig raced into the call centre at top speed, running past offices until he came to the main area where he, and Sophie, worked manning the phones. His boss, Michael, was there watching over... someone... as the worked at _his_ desk, which had him slightly worried that it had been arranged for someone else to take his shift for the day. Which it had, but the person in question was the last person he'd expect to see there, nor did he _want_ to see them there, but unfortunately for him, it was too late to do anything about it.

Michael noticed him as soon as he burst through the door. "Oh, afternoon," he said sternly.

"I'm so sorry, Michael," Craig replied, panting from all the running he'd done. "I don't know what happened, I've got no excuse."

"...and I think that's not what my screen is telling me, Mr. Lang," said the Doctor, coming out from underneath the desk. He looked up at Craig, and smiled, pleased that he was up and about, even though it didn't look like Craig was very pleased to see him.

Craig looked at the Doctor in shock. "What's he doing here?" he asked. "What are _you_ doing here?"

But the Doctor wasn't in a position to answer straightaway, because he was still in the middle of talking to one of Craig's customers. "If _that's_ your attitude, Mr. Lang, then I suggest you take your custom elsewhere." He finished the call by blowing a raspberry, to Michael's delight, and Craig's horror.

"No, no, no, that's one of my best clients!" he protested.

"Hello, Craig," the Doctor greeted warmly. "How are you feeling?" he asked, but didn't wait for a response before adding, "Had some time to kill, I was curious." He grinned. "Never worked in an office... never worked in _anywhere!_"

"You're _insane!_" Craig replied, horrified that the Doctor would act so blasé about taking over _his_ job!

Michael, on the other hand, wasn't going to stand for Craig's insults. "Leave off the Doctor," he said. "I _love_ the Doctor!" He smiled, then added, matter of factly, "He was _brilliant_ in the planning meeting."

"You went to the _planning meeting!_"

"Yes," the Doctor confirmed. "I was your representative." He grinned again. "We don't need Mr. Lang any more. _Rude_ Mr. Lang."

At this point, Sophie, who'd been busying herself making the Doctor a cup of tea, joined them. "Here you go," she said pleasantly, handing the Doctor his tea. "And I found some custard creams." She gave him the plate of biscuits, to which he took gratefully, shooting off a quick "Sophie, my hero," as she turned to Craig. She smiled at him, but he didn't smile back, completely and utterly confused by the entire situation. "Hi Craig," she said gently. "I went on the web, applied for a wildlife charity. They said I could always start as a volunteer straightaway." She paused, feeling unsure about whether she should be telling him this. "Should I do it?" she asked, hoping that it would be enough to drive him to ask her to stay.

But he didn't. "Yeah, great," he replied instead, too distracted by the fact that (in his mind) the Doctor had managed to ruin yet another part of his life. "Yeah, good, go for it."

The Doctor looked up from Craig's computer screen momentarily, and frowned. "You look awful," he said sternly. "About turn. Bed. Now." He looked down at the screen again, noticing Craig's distress, but choosing not to mention anything about it. "Who next?" he murmured, looking for the next name on the list. "Oh, yes." He answered the call. "Hello, Mr. Jorgenson. Can you hold? I have to eat a biscuit."

Unable to think of anything else to say, or do, Craig decided to go home. As far as he was concerned, his entire life was falling down around his ears. Anything, and everything, that could go wrong, _was_ going wrong, and he just couldn't take it any more. It was then he decided he was going to investigate what the Doctor had been doing in 'his' room. There had to _something_ he could do to get rid of him and his daughter, and then once they were gone, everything could go back to normal, and then he could find another flat mate that wasn't quite so weird.

But it wasn't going to be that easy.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Meanwhile, back at the flat, Robyn was trying to work out what she needed to do. She couldn't run; she didn't want to move at all, in case her legs betrayed her. But now the 'man' upstairs was talking to her again, and this time, it probably wouldn't let her get away again.

"Can you help me?" the voice asked through the intercom.

_Keep calm_, Robyn thought to herself, _just keep your cool_. _Just don't let him... or her.. or whoever this is... get to you_. "Why do you want my help?" she asked aloud, standing up straight, and keeping her voice as even as she could. "What's wrong?"

"There's been an accident," the voice replied. "It's my granddaughter, she's hurt."

Robyn raised an eyebrow. "Okay, so 'he' is going to treat like I'm human," she murmured to herself. "Which I am, obviously, but then he... it... probably already knows that."

"Can you help me?" the voice asked again.

"I... I... I'm thinking," Robyn replied, leaning against the brick fence. She couldn't understand why, but she suddenly felt very weak in the knees. "I'm not sure what I should do just yet."

"Please, my granddaughter is hurt!"

_So this is how the 'man' upstairs has been luring people off the street,_ she thought. _Telling them that there's been an accident, and that someone's hurt... but why?_ She looked down at the cat, which was still sitting beside her on the fence. "I think it's time for you to do that job my Dad asked you to do," she whispered. "Because I don't know how long I can keep myself from going up there."

The cat purred, rubbing its head against her hand, then jumped down from the fence and walked up the front step, disappearing through the cat flap.

And it was true, there was something strange stirring through Robyn's blood... she didn't know how good her willpower was, and something was calling to her, wanting her... she wasn't sure how long she could hold out... the voice crackled through the intercom again, and Robyn gasped, realising that she was now standing up... and she _didn't remember doing it!_ "Me and my Dad are counting on you, cat," she murmured. "Don't let us down."

Robyn took a tentative step forward, and she gasped again. "Come on, cat!" she said urgently. "Find out what's up there, because it looks like I'll be joining you _quite soon!_" She took another step forward, reaching for the front door. She couldn't stop herself, because somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if there really _was_ someone who needed her help. And if there was someone who needed help, why would she, or her father, leave them up there without doing anything for so long? Robyn shook her head. "Don't think about that," she said to herself. "It's just the 'man' upstairs messing with your head... I think... oh god..." She stepped forward, and then through the front door, and then the inner door, and soon she was back inside the building, standing in the hallway. She looked up the stairs, and an elderly man was looking down at her from the landing.

There was nothing more Robyn wanted to do at that moment than to turn and run. She would've run all the way to the call centre, if she only knew where it was, just so she could find her father and be safe with him. Anything else... even staring down a _Dalek_ (not that she'd ever seen one, and according to her father, she wouldn't want to if she could help it) would be preferable to what was happening to her right now.

"Can you help me?" the man repeated. "My granddaughter, she's hurt, and needs your help."

_But _why_ do you need my help? _Robin thought to herself. _What could you possibly be doing that you can't do yourself?_ "Why do you need my help?" she forced herself to ask. "What's wrong with your granddaughter, and what makes you think I can help her?"

The man stood for a few moments, as if thinking about the appropriate answers to her questions.

For a moment, Robyn thought she'd won, that with the 'man' distracted, she'd be able to get away, but her legs just wouldn't do what she wanted them to do, and she took another step _towards_ the stairs than away from them, which is what she'd intended. She was right at the bottom of the stairs now, and the only way to go, or the only way she was _allowed_ to go, was up. She shook her head. "I don't want to go up there," she whispered to herself. "And you're not going to make me..." She swallowed. "But you _are_ making me, and I can't break free of you." She got up on the first step, her hand wrapping around the banister, her knuckles turning white as she gripped it tighter and tighter. "I really want my Dad right now," she whimpered, shutting her eyes tightly, hoping that simply by thinking about him she could will him into existence, but it just wouldn't work. She looked up the stairs again, then took another step... and another... and _another_... and then the front door, and the inner door, slammed one after the other!

_Craig _was back!

Robyn shook her head, the noise from the doors slamming bringing her out of her trance. She jumped, letting go of the banister like a hot potato, then looked up.

The old man wasn't there any more!

She was _free!_

"Oh... I bloody _love_ you right now, Craig!" she cried, turning and running down the stairs again. She raced into the flat, only to find him searching through the drawer in the sideboard for the spare set of keys to the bedroom she shared with the Doctor. Before she got a chance to say a word, the older man had the keys in his hand and was heading towards the bedroom. Her heart leapt to her throat when she saw Craig unlock the door... and then sank when she heard him breathe "What the _hell?_"

He'd seen her father's scanner.

Now what was she going to do?

**OoOoOoOoO**

Trying to explain the scanner had been an ardent, but difficult, task, and by the end, Craig didn't believe a word Robyn told him. Nor did she expect him to, not after what she went through _before_ he went to work, but that didn't matter, not really, because all she wanted was to distract him long enough for the Doctor to come back. She continued to appeal to his compassion over and over until her voice turned hoarse, and he had decided to take his frustrations out on the dartboard that was hung on the wall nearest the kitchen. She returned outside, just as the cat came back from the upstairs flat, and the Doctor entered through the inner door.

She launched herself at him immediately. "Boy, am I glad to see you," she said, burying her face in his shirt as she hugged him tightly.

"Why, what happened?" the Doctor replied.

Robyn looked at the cat, then up at the stairs, then shuddered at the thought of what had almost happened to her. "The 'man' upstairs... 'he' nearly got me again," she told him. "I was almost half way up the stairs when Craig got back, and the only reason I got away was because he slammed the doors." She bit her lip. "I think 'he' hypnotised me, or something. I wasn't moving on my own."

The Doctor's mouth drew into a thin line, and he inspected the little girl thoroughly, checking her memories as well. "I should've realised you were here alone," he said. "When Craig turned up at the call centre, I was so caught up in everything, I almost forgot about you." He touched his forehead against her own. "Don't let me do that to you again, and don't let me do that to Amy, all right?"

"I won't," Robyn replied.

"Now," the Doctor continued, looking down at the cat, which was now sitting on the staircase. "Have you been upstairs?" he asked. The cat mewed once, and the Doctor took this as a 'yes'. "Yes?" Taking Robyn by the hand, the two of them sat on the stairs, on either side of the animal, and petted it. "You can do it," he said encouragingly, stroking the cat's fur. "Show me what's up there. What's behind that door?" Placing his hands gently on the cat's head, he closed his eyes. "Try to show me." Images began to pass from the animal to the Time Lord, as the psychic link established itself between them. The Doctor frowned. "Ohh, that doesn't make sense!" he exclaimed softly. He opened his eyes slowly. "Ever see anyone go up there?" he asked it, then glanced at Robyn, who looked up at the door to the upstairs flat fearfully. "Other than my daughter?"

The cat mewed again, and the Doctor nodded. "Lots of people? Good, good."

Robyn flinched. "How can that be good?" she asked.

The Doctor looked at her, raising a finger to his lips. "Shh. We're not finished yet."

As much as it pained her to do it, Robyn nodded, and held her tongue.

"What kind of people?" the Doctor continued, petting the cat again. It mewed again, and by now the Doctor was able to decipher what it was trying to tell him. "People who never come back down?" he asked, and the cat mewed again, confirming his suspicions. "Oh, that's bad, that's _very_ bad." The cat yowled, and then the Doctor and Robyn were bathed in the light of the downstairs flat as Craig opened the door. They looked at each other, then at Craig in surprise. "Oh, hello," the Doctor greeted hesitantly.

"I can't take this any more," Craig announced tensely, as if he were trying hard to keep his anger at bay. "I want you to go." The Doctor and Robyn leapt up from the stairs, and followed him inside as he went to the sideboard and grabbed the paper bag with the rest of the money they brought in it. "You can have this back and all."

"What have I done?" the Doctor asked incredulously.

"For a start, talking to a _cat_," Craig replied, making it sound as if it were the most scandalous thing known to man.

The Doctor frowned. "Lots of people talk to cats," he countered, throwing the paper bag over his shoulder, sending money raining all over the place.

Now Craig was starting to get mad, and he wasn't even trying to make an effort to conceal it. "Everybody loves you, and you're better at football than me, and my job, and now Sophie's all 'monkeys, monkeys'..."

Robyn listened to Craig's tirade intently, and while he ranted and raved, she realised what was making him act that way... He was _jealous_ of her _father!_ Oh, this was just too precious, and it was almost a shame that she couldn't tell him then and there that her father wasn't even human, and that was why he was so good at everything, but her amusement was rather short lived when she heard him say "... and then, there's that!"

The Doctor looked at Craig in alarm, racing to the bedroom as soon as he'd thrown open the door. "It's art!" he said quickly, hoping that would be enough to distract him. "A statement on modern society..." He moved over to the scanner, catching one of the watches to stop it from spinning. "Ooh, ain't modern society awful," he said disparagingly.

But Craig wasn't having any of it. "Me and you, it's not going to work out," he said, beside himself. "The two of you've only been here three days, and they've been the three _weirdest_ days of my life!"

"Your days will be a _lot_ weirder if we go," the Doctor warned tersely.

"I thought it was _good_ weird," Craig replied, partially sounding as if he were trying to convince himself of that fact. "It's not! It's _bad_ weird! I can't do this it any more!"

The Doctor realised it was time to try and salvage the situation. "Craig, I can't leave this place," he said. "I'm like you. I can't see the point of anywhere else. Madrid, hah, what a dump! I _have_ stay!"

"And where_ he_ goes, I go," Robyn added, squeezing past Craig and standing beside her father. "And he's right. We _have_ to stay!"

Craig shook his head. "No, you don't!" he refuted. "You have to _leave!_"

"We _can't_ go!" the Doctor argued.

"Just _get_ _out!_"

Robyn gasped as the Doctor grabbed Craig's jacket by the lapels, closing the gap between them. "Right!" he growled. "Only way! I'm going to show you something, but shh, _really_, shh!" He paused for a moment, preparing himself for what he was about to do. "Oh, I'm going to regret this!" he said ruefully. "Okay, right. First, general background." He drew his head back... then pelted his forehead against Craig's with a sickening smack, the two men groaning with pain as they reeled back.

Images flew into Craig's mind; pictures of no less than _eleven_ different men, yet there was something about them all that proved they were the _same_ man! He gasped as everything fell into place, looking at the Doctor with wide eyes as he realised what made him so different. "You're a..."

The Doctor nodded, clutching his sore head. "Yes," he gasped.

Craig pointed to the ceiling. "From..."

"Shh."

"You've got a _TARDIS!_"

"Shh, yes, _shh!_" the Doctor replied, nodding again. He circled his face with his finger. "Eleventh." He grabbed Craig's lapels again, and Robyn could immediately tell he was about to go for another head-butt. "Right, okay, specific detail," he declared, then went in for the kill a second time.

New images flew into Craig's mind now, but he wasn't sure which hurt more - the head-butt itself, or the massive info dump that came with it. The story of how the Doctor and Robyn came to live with him played out in front of his eyes, from the moment that they'd been flung out of the TARDIS, right to the moment they turned up on his doorstep. "You saw my ad in the paper shop window," he said, watching the Doctor grab a piece of paper off the chest of drawers.

"Yes, with this right above it," the Doctor replied, showing him the note. "Which is odd, because Amy _hasn't_ written it yet!" He paused, taking a moment to get his breath back. "Time travel," he whispered. "It _can_ happen!"

Craig shook his head, as more bits and pieces became unjumbled and fell into place. He pointed at the scanner. "That's a scanner!" he exclaimed.

"Thank _you_, Captain Obvious," Robyn grumbled.

"You used non-technological technology of _Lammasteen!_"

Before he could say anything else, the Doctor grabbed him and covered his mouth with his hand. "Shut _up!_" he cried, in case the 'man' upstairs might overhear them.

Robyn gulped, then glanced at the ceiling, getting a feeling that something very, _very_, bad was about to happen.

And she'd be right.

**OoOoOoOoO**


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

Out in the hallway, Sophie was about to enter the flat, but she only just unlocked the door when the lights started to flicker...

"Please, can you help me?" a voice asked from the top of the stairs.

Sophie looked up, to find a little girl, not unlike Robyn, looking down on her from the landing. "Hi," she greeted gently.

"Please," the little girl replied. "Will you help me?"

"What's the matter, my love?" asked Sophie, ascending the staircase. "Help you?"

Oblivious to the goings on in the hall, the Doctor and Craig recovered from both head-butts. "I am never... _never_ doing that ever... _ever_ again!" the Doctor exclaimed, panting and rubbing his head to try and relieve the pain. He turned on his earpiece, and Robyn did the same. "Amy!"

"That's Amy Pond," said Craig, flapping his hand over his mouth in surprise.

"Oh, of course, you can understand us now. Hurrah!" the Doctor replied sarcastically, leaning on the bed frame. "Got those plans yet?"

Amy's clicked and clacked over the keyboard. "Still searching for them," she told him.

The Doctor nodded. "I've worked it out," he said, deciding to update her on his activities. "With psychic help from a cat."

"A cat?" Amy replied, looking at the bell of the gramophone in disbelief.

"Yes," said the Doctor, grinning as he stood up. "I know he's got a time engine in the flat upstairs. He's using innocent people to try and launch it. Whenever he does, they get burnt up," he glanced at Craig, who was looking up at the ceiling frantically, "hence the stain on your ceiling."

"From the _ceiling_?"

"Well done... Craig," the Doctor replied, then continued, addressing Amy again, "and you, Miss Pond, nearly get thrown off into the vortex."

"Lovely," said Amy half-heartedly.

Just then, there was loud crash from up above, and Robyn heard Amy scream as the TARDIS started to shudder and shake itself in to oblivion. "I think it's happening again, Dad!" she cried, as she watched Craig start to repeat saying "People are dying up there! People are dying - People are dying -"

"Amy..." the Doctor said quietly.

"_Doctor!_"

"People are dying - " Craig shook his head, breaking free of the time loop easily now that he was aware of it. "They're being _killed!_" he exclaimed, as shock and horror washed over him.

Robyn looked at her father in alarm, her eyes becoming wide and fearful. "Then that means..."

"Someone's up there," the Doctor finished, running from the room, Robyn and Craig hot on his heels.

As she ran through the door that led into the hallway, Robyn noticed something that made her heart leap to her throat. In the key hole was a key... but not just any key... it was one that had a _pink_, _fuzzy_, _key ring_! Amy's voice crackled through her earpiece as she told the Doctor to hang on a moment, and Robyn couldn't help but agree with her. "She's right, Dad!" she cried.

The Doctor wasn't about to wait around when someone's life was in danger. "Craig, come on..." he said, trailing off when he saw the keys. "Someone's dying up there."

Craig looked down at Robyn, and when he saw the key in the door, he knew who was in the upstairs flat. "It's Sophie," he murmured, as the whole thing suddenly became very more personal to him. "It's Sophie that's dying up there... it's _Sophie!_"

Spurred on by the new information, the three of them ran up the stairs, reaching the front of the upstairs flat. They were about to go in, when Amy suddenly yelled "STOP!" The Doctor stopped dead in front of the door, to Robyn and Craig's alarm. They both wanted to save Sophie, Craig even more so, and the sudden halt was not what they expected.

"Where's Sophie?" Craig cried, not wanting to spend another moment standing around when Sophie was about to killed.

"Wait... wait... _wait!_"The Doctor waved his hand, wanting quiet so he could listen to what Amy needed to tell them. "Amy?" he said, taking the sonic screwdriver from his coat pocket.

"Are you upstairs?" she asked, gripping the bar underneath the scanner so she didn't fall from all the jolting and shaking.

The Doctor frowned, concerned that she'd be asking such a question. "Just going in," he replied hastily.

"No, but you _can't _be upstairs," Amy countered.

Robyn snorted, annoyed by the delay. "Why _not!_" she yelled, bouncing on the balls of her feet nervously.

"Of course I can be upstairs," the Doctor replied, becoming more worried by the second that Amy was going to tell him something _extremely_ very not good.

"Come on!" Craig urged, the sound of Sophie's screams resonating in his ears, and the fact that she was so tantilisingly close was not helping matters at all.

"No," Amy continued. "I've got the plans. You cannot be upstairs, it's a one-storey building."

As soon as she heard this, a pit formed in the bottom of Robyn's stomach. There was something very strange going on this entire time, and now they were going to find out _exactly_ what it was, but Robyn was sure she wanted to know... not anymore. She just wanted to save Sophie, who'd been so nice to her while she and her Dad were stuck there. She didn't want her to die, like all those other people that had gone up there... like _she_ almost had. "Why can't we be upstairs, Amy?" she asked hesitantly.

"There _is_ no upstairs!"

The news hit them like a sucker punch to the gut, and the Doctor, Craig, and Robyn looked at each other in shock, and then down at the staircase, which according to Amy's information, did _not_ exist! The Doctor quickly set to work, pointing the sonic at the front door lock, then turning it on, and with a short sharp whirring noise, the lock clicked open, and the three of them finally made their way into the flat.

But, as they soon found, the flat wasn't really a flat at all...

**OoOoOoOoO**

The Doctor, Craig, and Robyn, stared at the room in horror. It was huge, but not on the scale of the Doctor's TARDIS, to which it paid a fleeting resemblance, and the centre console, which was four coffin-like structures with blue orbs on top, was bathed in bluey-purple light. There was dirt and grime covering the floor, and Robyn suspected it was part of the reason there was a rot patch on Craig's ceiling. The Doctor took Robyn by the hand, their fingers lacing together, and they, and Craig, gingerly stepped into the 'flat'.

Craig was dumbfounded. "What?"

"Dad, what _is_ this?" asked Robyn, tightening her grip. "What's it doing here?"

"Oh... Oh, of _course_," the Doctor murmured, ignoring the question as he realised what was wrong. "The time engine isn't _in_ the flat, the time engine _is_ the flat!" He looked down at Robyn. "Someone's _attempt_ to build a TARDIS!"

Robyn's face turned pale. "Someone tried to build a TARDIS?" She shook her head, wanting to believe it wasn't true, and then remembered something he'd told her back on _their_ TARDIS. "But you told me TARDISes aren't built," she said. "You told me they were grown, Dad."

The Doctor frowned. "I said it's someone's _attempt_ to build a TARDIS," he replied. "And this one has gone very, _very_, wrong."

But Craig couldn't believe a word he was hearing, despite the fact that it was right there in front of him as clear as day. "No," he protested. "There's always been an upstairs."

The Doctor looked at him curiously. "Has there?" he replied, hastily adding, "Think about it."

Craig thought quickly, trying to remember if there was ever a time that there wasn't an upstairs flat... and found he _couldn't_. " Yes... No... I don't..." he spluttered indecisively, becoming angry with himself for not being able to remember such a trivial, yet enormously important, thing.

"How come there hasn't always been an upstairs?" Robyn asked, trying to get everything straight in her head. "And how come Craig can't remember whether there was or not?"

"Perception filter," the Doctor replied. "It's more than a disguise; it _tricks_ your memory."

Robyn frowned. "So it make you think things are to different to how they really are."

"Exactly."

Just then, a scream rang out from across the room, but it didn't take a lot to figure out who it was. Craig was immediately off and running, as Sophie came into view, lightening bolts attached to her fingers and pulling her towards the centre console, despite her attempts to fight it. "Sophie!" he cried. "Oh my god! _Sophie!_"

"Craig!" Sophie gasped, as he grabbed her and tried to pull her back from the console.

"It's controlling her!" the Doctor exclaimed, racing over to help them. "It's willing her to touch the activator!"

Craig tightened his grip. "It's _not_ going to have her!" he growled, pulling with all his might. He was madly in love with this woman, and he wasn't about to let some rogue... _spaceship_ try and kill her just so it could take off. He wasn't going to let Sophie die, not when she was the one thing in the world he believed worth fighting for.

The Doctor was soon by their side, running the sonic screwdriver over the activator and attempting to free Sophie from its pull, but it wasn't working and soon Sophie's hand touched the orb, turning it from blue to a very angry pink. He tried again, but the sonic still wouldn't work, and cried out in frustration. "Deadlock seal!"

"You've got to _do _something!" Craig cried, upset that their attempt to save Sophie wasn't working.

Suddenly, the activator went back from pink to blue, and Craig and Sophie fell to the ground as the ship released them. Robyn breathed a sigh of relief, but deep down, she knew they weren't out of the woods just yet. There was still the time engine to sort out, and the fact that it had let Sophie go so easily was very worrying indeed. "Uh... why did it do that?" she asked.

The Doctor was equally surprised. "What? Why's it let her go?" he said, panting from all the effort he'd put in. He looked up, and saw a withered husk lying by the side of the platform, partially entangled by a thick cable. It looked like it had been human, at one point, but to be sure, he decided to get a closer look. He crossed the platform, but as soon as he got near the husk, when a man suddenly appeared behind him, his face hidden in the shadows.

Robyn gasped as soon as she saw the man appear out of nowhere, recognising him immediately, even without being able to see his face. "That's him," she murmured, running to the Doctor's side. "That's the man that I saw when I almost came up here."

"Is that so..." the Doctor replied, looking at the man intently.

"You will help me," said the man. This time it was a statement, not a question, and it sounded like there was no margin for error.

The Doctor held up his hand. "Right! Stop!" He frowned. "Crashed ship, let's see..." He paused for a moment, trying to figure out what he was going to say. Then it came to him. "Hello," he began. "I'm Captain Troy Handsome of International Rescue, please state the nature of your emergency?"

"The ship has crashed, the crew is dead," the man replied. "A pilot is required."

Robyn flinched. So that's what would've happened if she hadn't got away; the ship would've tried to use _her _as its new pilot, just as it had tried to do with Sophie... just as it had tried to do with all the other people that had been lured upstairs.

"And you're the emergency crash program," the Doctor continued. "A hologram. What, have you been luring people up here so you can try them out?" He scanned the hologram with the sonic screwdriver, and it changed right before his and Robyn's eyes, turning into a young man, a little girl, and then back into the elderly man.

As the Doctor was preoccupied with the hologram, Sophie regained consciousness, to Craig's relief. "What is this?" she asked, looking around the ship in alarm.

The Doctor frowned at her. "Hush," he said, then turned his attentions back to the hologram. "Human brains aren't strong enough, though," he continued, screwing his face up in anger. "They just burn... But you're stupid, aren't you? You just keep _trying_!"

"Seventeen people have been tried," the hologram confirmed. "Six billion, four hundred thousand, and twenty six remain."

Sophie had managed to get back on her feet now, thanks to Craig, but she was still confused by everything, and more than a little bit frightened that she couldn't remember coming upstairs in the first place. "Seriously, _what_ is going on?"

The Doctor sighed, as he put the sonic screwdriver back in his pocket. "Oh for goodness sake... The top floor of Craig's building is in reality an alien spaceship intent on slaughtering the population of this planet. Any questions? No? Good."

"Yes, I have questions," Sophie protested, but Craig held her and shook his head, and she backed off.

"The correct pilot has now been found," the hologram announced.

Robyn's heart grew tight in her chest, as she realised what the hologram meant. This was not good, not good at all, and her mind raced as she tried to think of something that delay the inevitable, but nothing immediately came to mind. Something was about to happen to the Doctor, and there was nothing either of them could do to stop it.

And the Doctor must've realised the same thing, because he suddenly looked very worried. "Yes," he replied. "I was a bit worried that you were going to say that."

"He means you, Doctor, doesn't he?" said Amy, confirming their suspicions.

Robyn screamed as lightening bolts shot forth from the console, and all she, Sophie, and Craig could do was watch helplessly as they hit the Doctor full in the chest and forced him to walk toward the activator. As he passed the nearest column, he grabbed a hold of it, slowing the ship's pull over him, but not stopping it completely.

"What's happening?" Amy cried, hearing the commotion.

"It's pulling me in," the Doctor replied, holding on to the column with all his strength. "I'm the new pilot."

Amy hung onto the TARDIS for dear life. "Could you do it?" she asked. "Could you fly the ship _safely_?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, I'm way too much for this ship," he said, his fingers beginning to slip from the column. "If my hand touches that panel, the planet doesn't blow up... the whole _solar system_ does!"

"The correct pilot has been found," the hologram chorused again, and there was nothing more Robyn wanted to do than to tell it to shut up, but that wasn't the most important thing at that moment, as she watched in horror as her father lost his grip on the column and fell to his knees in front of the panel, his face screwing up in pain as he landed, his hand inches from the blue orb.

Robyn ran to her father's side, tears streaming down her face, grabbing his arm and trying to help him break free. "Let him _go!_" she screamed, tugging at the Doctor's arm with all her strength. "He's _not_ the one that can help you!" She let go of his arm, then fell to her knees as well, grabbing him around his waste and trying to pull him free that way. "_Please_ let him go!"

"The correct pilot has been found," the hologram repeated, Robyn's pleas going unanswered.

"No... worst choice ever, I promise you!" the Doctor cried. "Stop this!"

The TARDIS shivered and shook, creaked and quaked, sparks flying everywhere, and Amy was finding it even harder to stay in control. "Doctor!" she yelled. "It's getting worse!"

The Doctor managed a brief nod, and then looked at Craig. "It doesn't want everyone, Craig," he said urgently. "It didn't want _you!_"

Then Craig realised why the Doctor thought he was in trouble when he came out of the shower with his toothbrush. "I spoke to him, and he said I couldn't help him!"

"It didn't want Sophie before today, but now it does. Why, what's changed?" The Doctor cried out in pain, as the hologram asserted even more control. "No! I gave her the idea of leaving!" he exclaimed. "It's a machine that _needs_ to leave, it wants people who _want_ to escape. But you don't want to leave, Craig, you're Mr. Sofa Man!"

"DOCTOR!" Amy screamed.

"Craig, you can shut down the engine," the Doctor continued. "Put your hand on the panel, and concentrate on why you want to stay!"

Robyn looked at Craig, the tears flowing thick and fast now. "Save him... _please_," she begged.

Sophie shook her head. "Craig, _no!_"

But Craig knew this was his moment. His chance to be a hero, for Sophie, and for a little girl that would lose her father if he touched the orb. "Will it work?" he asked urgently.

"Yes!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Is that a lie?"

The Doctor hesitated for a moment... then cried out, "Of _course _it's a lie!"

"It's good enough for me!" Craig replied, taking a deep breath and gathering up all the courage inside of him. "_Geronimo!_" He slammed his hand down onto the orb, and the Doctor was released from the ship's control immediately. He could feel himself burning; the pain in his head was excruciating, and he tried to concentrate on what the Doctor had told him to, but it just wasn't working. The pain was distracting him. He heard Sophie scream his name.

"Craig, what's keeping you here?" the Doctor prompted. "Think about everything that make you want to stay here. Why don't you want to leave?"

The next thing Craig knew, the Doctor had slapped him. "Sophie!" he gasped. "And I don't want to leave Sophie! I can't leave Sophie! I _love_ Sophie!"

Hearing this, Sophie gasped with surprise, although there was also a feeling of 'at last!' in the way she looked at him. "I love you too, Craig, you _idiot!_" she exclaimed, walking over and placing her hand on top of his, so now both rest on the orb. Smoke exploded from the panels, filling the air as the ship overloaded.

Craig smiled with relief, even though the world was falling to pieces around them. "Honestly, do you mean that?"

"Of _course _I mean it!" Sophie replied. "Do you mean it?"

"I've _always_ meant it," Craig assured her. "Seriously though, do you mean it?"

She nodded, smiling stupidly. "Yes!"

"What about the monkeys?"

By now, the Doctor and Robyn were getting fed up with the couple's banter, especially since there was still a ship to disable. "Oh, not now, not again!" the Doctor cried in exasperation. "Craig, the planets about to burn! For God's sake, kiss the girl!"

"Kiss the girl!" Robyn and Amy chorused, and Craig and Sophie happily obliged.

As Sophie and Craig kissed, Craig's hand was released from the orb, and on the TARDIS everything grew still. Amy looked at the scanner and grinned. "Doctor, you've done it!" she cried happily. "You've done it! Oh, now the screen's just zeroes! Now it's minus ones, minus twos, minus threes!" She pumped her fist in the air. "Big yes!"

But the ship started to rumble, and the Doctor realised what was about to happen, as the emergency hologram started to go haywire. "Big no," he murmured.

Craig and Sophie broke apart, looking around in alarm. "Did we switch it off?" asked Craig.

"Emergency shutdown," the Doctor announced, taking Robyn by the hand. "It's imploding, everybody out, out, _out!_"

The four of them raced out of the ship as fast as they could, and didn't stop until they were out in the street. They looked back up at the top floor of the building, as it reverted back into a ship, then collapsed in on itself, leaving the one-storey flat, Craig's flat, exactly as it was supposed to be. A man with a young baby walked past, completely oblivious to what had just happened, and life went on around them. Not one person, other than themselves, had seen the ship implode.

"Look at them," said Craig, pointing to the man and the baby. "Didn't they see that? The top floor just vanished!"

"Perception filter," the Doctor replied. "There never _was_ a top floor."

Robyn looked up at her father, then at Craig. "We should check to see if the rot is still there," she said quietly. "Because now that the ship's gone, so should the rot."

The Doctor ruffled her hair. "Yes, that's exactly what we should do."

And then it would be time for them to go home.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Now that the spaceship, and the rot, were proved to be well and truly gone, it was time for the Doctor to disassemble his scanner, while Robyn got packed and ready to leave. Both human and Time Lord went about their tasks in silence, intending to slip out quietly when the opportunity presented itself. Besides, now that Craig had finally confessed his feelings for Sophie, they were going to want some time alone together, weren't they?

Robyn sorted her clothes haphazardly, not really caring what state they were in as she stuffed them into her satchel. She knew the TARDIS would sort them out later. She glanced at the Doctor, who was taking the scanner apart, then bit her lip. _I'm not going to cry_, she thought to herself. _The Doctor is still here, the solar system is still here, so you don't need to get upset_...

Too late.

Sinking to the floor, Robyn buried her head in her hands, tears pouring down her face. She couldn't believe how close she'd come to losing her own life, and then to face the possibility of losing her Dad to the same thing... He'd always saved her, but this time, she couldn't even save him! She'd never felt more helpless, or more useless, in her life... If only she were older, or stronger, she could've done _something!_

Then she felt someone pick her up, cradling her in their arms.

"Are you all right?" the Doctor asked gently.

Robyn shook her head. "No," she sniffled.

The Doctor nodded. "I didn't think you were." He held her close to him, then took a handkerchief from his pocket, and gave it to her. "Here, use this," he said, smiling slightly. "It's better than my shirt, I'd say."

"Thanks, Dad," Robyn said quietly, then took the handkerchief and blew her nose.

"Now, do you want to tell me why you're so upset?"

For a moment, Robyn was deathly quiet, looking like she was on the verge of tears again. Then she said, "I couldn't save you from the ship, and everyone nearly died."

"But they didn't," the Doctor replied, tucking her hair behind her ear. "And the solar system is safe."

"I still could've lost you, though."

The Doctor smiled, then kissed her forehead. "If it helps," he began. "You bought Craig time before he put his hand on the panel."

Robyn looked at him in confusion. "I did?"

"You did."

A wide smile crept onto the little girl's face ever so slowly, then she hugged her father tightly, which he eagerly returned. They stayed like this for a few moments longer, then the Doctor gently put her down, and grabbed her bag from the floor and gave it to her. "Time to go?" she asked.

"Time to go," the Doctor confirmed, taking down the final pieces of the scanner. "The TARDIS should've landed by now, so Amy will be waiting for us back at the park."

This seemed to brighten Robyn's spirits a bit more. As much as she liked staying with Craig (at least until he'd nearly thrown them out), she couldn't wait to get home and see Amy again. She strapped the satchel over her shoulder, then took the Doctor's hand, looking around the bedroom one last time. "I'm going to miss this place," she admitted sadly. "And Craig and Sophie too, but I just want to go home now."

"Home?" the Doctor replied, a sly smile playing on his lips.

"The TARDIS, silly."

"Oh, _that_ home."

Robyn laughed, then let go of his hand and hugged him again. "Yes, that home."

Meanwhile, Craig and Sophie were gleefully 'ruining' their friendship. Ever since Craig had confessed his feelings, the two of them hadn't been able to keep their hands off each other! Not that they minded in the slightest, because now they had each other, and they weren't about to let anything stop them from expressing their feelings for each other, not after denying them for so long.

"So have we spoiled our friendship then?" asked Craig.

Sophie smiled. "Totally ruined it," she replied.

"And what about the monkeys? We could save them together, you know." Craig smiled back at her. "Do whatever we want. I can see the point of Paris, if _you_ were there with me."

"First, let's ruin our friendship _completely_."

Laughing heartily, Craig and Sophie resumed 'ruining' their friendship, as the Doctor and Robyn entered the room. Although he planned to give the keys straight back to Craig, realising he was busy, the Doctor chose to put the keys back on the sideboard instead. Then, taking Robyn's hand again, the two of them went to the door, ready to leave the couple forever.

But Craig had seen them out of the corner of his eye as they were about to leave. "Oi!" he called.

"What, you're trying to sneak off?" asked Sophie, as she and Craig joined them at the front door.

The Doctor looked at her sheepishly. "Yes, well, you were sort of... _busy_."

Craig laughed, then shook his head, picking up the keys from the sideboard, then handing them to the Doctor. "I want you to keep these," he said earnestly.

"Thank you." The Doctor grinned, looking down at Robyn. "Cause we might pop back soon, have another little stay?"

"No, you won't," Craig replied. "I've been in your head, remember?"

"Thank you, Craig."

"Thank _you_, Doctor."

The Doctor turned to Sophie next, giving her a polite nod. "Sophie."

Now it was Robyn's turn to say goodbye. She stepped forward gingerly, then Craig knelt down and gave her a tight hug. "Thank you, for everything, Craig," she said quietly. "Thank you for letting us stay with you... and for saving my Dad."

"It was my pleasure," Craig replied, hugging her again. "And I'm sorry for not believing you."

Robyn shrugged. "It's okay. I'm used to it." As Craig let go of her again, she turned to Sophie, who also hugged her, which she welcomed and returned with vigour. "Bye Sophie, I'll miss you."

Sophie smiled. "Miss you too, my love," she replied.

The Doctor smiled. "Now then," he began, looking at the happy couple one last time. "Six billion, four hundred thousand and twenty six. That's the number to beat."

Sophie laughed. "Yeah."

The Doctor put his hand on Robyn's shoulder, and gently pulled her away. "It's time to go, Robyn."

Robyn looked up at him and nodded. "Yes, Dad..." She frowned, thinking of something. "Actually, wait one minute." She quickly ran over to the kitchen, then adjusted the letter magnets on the front of the refrigerator so instead of reading 'Craig rocks', they said 'The Doctor rocks'. She grinned. "That's more like it," she murmured. She glanced at the photograph of her Dad that was attached to the fridge with another magnet. "That was the best day ever," she said to herself. "Wish I had a copy of that photo."

"Come along, Robyn," the Doctor called.

"Coming, Dad." She returned to her father's side, and the two of them left Craig and Sophie, and the flat on Aickman Road, for good.

Well... almost.

There were still some matters to attend to in the past, after all.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Do you think Craig's going to start looking for a new flatmate?" asked Robyn, as they walked back to the park. "Now that we're gone, I mean."

The Doctor smiled, already knowing the answer to that one. "No," he replied. "I get the feeling that Craig will already have that problem sorted out."

Robyn grinned. "Sophie?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sophie."

"You think they might get married?" Robyn was walking backwards now, looking over her shoulder every so often so she didn't run into anything. "I mean, they're in love, so they might get married, right Dad?" She paused, then stopped suddenly, realising what she was saying, then looked up at her father sadly. "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. Just remembered about you, and Rose."

The Doctor looked down at her, smiling a sad, yet bright smile. "It's all right," he said, crouching to the little girl's eye level. "Yes, Craig and Sophie probably will get married, but you don't have to be sorry for thinking about Rose. I think about her everyday, wondering if she's happy, if she's helping my... brother adapt to life in the parallel universe. I loved her, Robyn, and I still do, but we couldn't be together the way Craig and Sophie can."

Robyn looked down at the footpath. "That doesn't stop me from being sad because the two of you couldn't be together," she said, drawing invisible circles in the concrete with the toe of her shoe. "It's like a fairytale gone wrong," she mused. "The beautiful princess has her prince, but even though he _looks_ like the one she originally fell in love with, has got all the memories and feelings of the one she originally fell in love with... he's not the one she fell in love with, because the one she fell in love with, the one she really wanted... was you."

"At the same time, though," the Doctor countered. "He _is_ me, but he can grow old with her, where I can't. You'll understand, one day," he continued, caressing her cheek. "When people don't believe I'm your father because I'll look more like your brother when you get older."

"You will?" asked Robyn, looking at him in alarm. She didn't remembering him mentioning anything of the sort back at the TARDIS.

The Doctor nodded. "I will," he echoed. "I age, but at a much slower rate than you, so I'll still look the same, for the most part, when you're eighteen, even when you're well into your twenties."

"Does Amy know?"

"Not yet, but she knows I'm an alien, so she understands that I'm... _different_."

Robyn rolled her eyes. "_I_ know that you're different," she replied. "And I starting to think I know a whole lot of things about you, things that you haven't even mentioned to Amy." She frowned. "What makes me so different?"

"I don't want to tell Amy too much until the right time," said the Doctor, a faraway look in his eyes. "There are things about her life that don't make sense."

"They don't?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, they don't, and I'm still figuring out what, so don't go mentioning it to her at all, understand?"

Robyn nodded. "I understand." She held up her hand, and then crossed her heart with her finger. "I swear I will not tell Amy anything you've told me today." She paused, then hastily added, "Or anything else you intend to tell me before we get back to the TARDIS."

"And what gives you that idea?" the Doctor asked, smiling at her in amusement.

"Why doesn't Amy's life make sense?" Robyn replied. "And you can't get out of telling me, because you promised to tell me everything, but you haven't told me anything about that yet!"

"All right, I'll tell you, but not until after we get back to the TARDIS, and not until after we set everything up here for our past selves."

Robyn nodded, accepting this without reservations. The Doctor would tell her when he was ready, just like with everything else she'd had to wheedle out of him.

They were also at the park by now, and Robyn could feel the presence of the TARDIS in her head before she even laid eyes on it. It called to her, sang to her, stirring feelings inside of her that she couldn't explain, but didn't even want to end if she could help it. Then a wind picked up, and the Doctor held her tightly as the dust began to churn around them, and a grinding, groaning, wheezing and screaming noise filled the air - the sound of the universe, the Doctor had told her, but she knew it was the sweetest of music, and she was sure her father agreed. The blue Police Box faded in and out of existence before their eyes, becoming more and more solid with each passing moment, and Robyn's heart filled with excitement. Home, and Amy, were almost in reach. With a last grinding, halting, screech, the TARDIS pulsed into existence and then landed with a loud *thunk*.

"There she is," the Doctor said proudly, as Amy emerged from the Police Box. "Amy Pond. TARDIS Pilot Extraordinaire."

Amy rolled her eyes at him, but smiled anyway. "Oh, push off," she said. "The TARDIS was stuck. I didn't have to _do_ anything."

"True," the Doctor agreed. "But you would've been flung into the vortex if I hadn't told you about the zigzag plotter." He grinned. "I'd say that counts for something."

Robyn laughed. "I think it does," she said, racing forward to hug the older girl. "We got our home back!"

"Our home?" Amy asked, returning the little girl's embrace eagerly.

"The TARDIS," Robyn said with a sigh, and starting to feel little embarrassed that she had to explain herself again. "The TARDIS is home."

The Doctor smiled. "I'd say that's an accurate description, wouldn't you agree, Amy?" He looked at her pointedly.

"Oh, yeah," she said quickly, holding the little girl's hand. "That's a pretty good way of putting it."

Robyn folded her arms across her chest, knowing when she was being made fun off, even though she also knew that her father and Amy meant well. "Oh, come on," she said with exasperation, "we've got stuff that needs sorting out, or else time will change."

"What _is_ she talking about?" asked Amy, as she and the Doctor followed the little girl into the TARDIS.

"Oh, just a few bits and bobs that need setting into place," the Doctor replied, taking off his jacket and putting it down on one of the seats. He walked around the console and pulled a lever, then walked around and spun another part as he prepared the time-ship to go into flight. "Back in time," he announced. "You need to go to the paper shop and leave that note for us."

Amy smiled. "Right little matchmaker, aren't you?" she said, remembering what the Doctor had done to save them. "Can't you find me a feller?" she asked, as the Doctor picked up a stethoscope and gave the TARDIS a quick check-up.

The smile on Robyn's face as she watched the Doctor work suddenly faded, and she knew if he'd heard what Amy had said... then she was sure he wouldn't be smiling either. But the earpieces of the stethoscope in his ears, there was no way of knowing if he even _had_ heard her, which in hindsight might've been for the best.

"Oh, the rectifier's playing up again," said the Doctor, finishing the check-up. "Hold on." He took off the stethoscope and bounded away from the console, presumably to fix the rectifier. "You write the note," he called back, addressing Amy, "and I'll change that will."

"Have you got a pen?" Amy called back."

"Make sure it's a red pen."

Amy frowned, then folded her arms across her chest. She glanced at Robyn. "Got any idea where he might have a red pen?" she asked.

Robyn thought for a moment. "I think he might have one in his jacket," she replied. "Why don't you try looking there first?"

"That's a good an idea as any," Amy said with a shrug. She moved over to the seat where the Doctor had dumped his coat, sifting through both pockets. While one of empty, the other wasn't...

Amy stared at the contents of the Doctor's coat pocket, an expression of shock passing over her as something attempted to force itself to the forefront of her mind. In her hands she held a red velvet ring box, and inside it, unsurprisingly, was a diamond ring, glittering and sparkling in the light of the Time Rotor. Amy shuddered, like someone had walked over her grave... or someone else's. She got the distinct feeling that someone was missing, and that it had something to do with a crack... then she shook her head, and the moment was gone. She snapped the ring box shut.

Something very, _very_, weird was going on, Robyn realised, and she suspected this was part of what the Doctor still had to tell her.

There was no way he was getting out of it this time.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"You remember where the paper shop is, Robyn?" the Doctor asked once the rectifier had been fixed, and they'd landed three days in the past.

Robyn nodded, though why he was asking her such a question was beyond her. "Of course, I do," she replied. "Why?"

"If Amy's written the note, then I want you to take her there."

Amy frowned. "But won't they recognise Robyn when she shows up with you _after_ she's left with me?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, I don't think so," he replied. "We've arrived roundabout the time Craig put the ad in the window, which is in the morning, and Robyn and I arrived in the afternoon."

"So, I'm not in danger of meeting myself," said Robyn, working things out in her head. "And there's enough time between me in the past going there in the afternoon with you, and going there now, in the morning, with Amy, that I probably wouldn't be recognised?" She sighed. "Why does time travel have to be so confusing?" she asked.

"Because time's a ball of -"

Amy and Robyn grinned at each other, knowing what he was about to say. "Wibbley wobbley, timey wimey stuff," they chorused, finishing the Doctor's sentence for him, to his annoyance.

The Doctor frowned. "Yes, exactly," he replied. "Anyway, like I was saying, I want you to take Amy to the paper shop, and show her where Craig put that ad."

Robyn rolled her eyes. "You just want us out of the way while you go changing wills," she said, going and getting her coat from the hat stand. "Come on, Amy, I'll take you to the paper shop."

Amy nodded. "Yeah, all right," she replied, hastily stuffing the note into her coat pocket. "Now we can go." She took the little girl by the hand. "See you later, Doctor."

"Don't take too long," the Doctor called after them, but neither girl made any indication that they heard him... or that they were ignoring him on purpose. But he didn't mind, as long as they did what he sent them to do.

As it turned out, the TARDIS had stayed mostly in the same area, so it wasn't hard to figure out which way to go, so Robyn was able to lead Amy in the right direction. They walked down the street, but hadn't gotten very far when Robyn spotted the cat that would help her father spy on the hologram from the time ship. "This way," she said, pulling the older girl over to the cat. "This is the cat that's going to help me and Dad find out about the ship." She petted the cat, stroking its fur from head to tail. "This cat is going to save my life."

Amy smiled. "Then we'll have to ask the Doctor to take us forward in time again, so we can thank it properly."

"Could we?"

"Yeah, it won't take much to convince him," Amy replied.

Robyn grinned. "It _is_ pretty easy, isn't it?"

But her grin soon faded when she realised that Amy wasn't listening to her anymore, instead looking around the street strangely... as if she'd heard _someone else_ speak to her. Robyn looked around as well, trying to work out what the older girl was trying to find... and then gasped.

The Doctor... her _father_... was standing in the middle of the road. It looked as if he was saying something, but there was no sound coming out of his mouth. When his eyes met her own, they widened, and then he mouthed her name. Now he was calling to _her_.

He was trying to get _her_ attention, probably hoping that she would get Amy's attention as well.

"Dad?" she breathed. "What are you...?" She watched him turn and look at something behind him, then turn back at her and smile sadly. "Dad," she repeated. "What's happening, why are your clothes different?" A completely unexplainable fear came over her. Why could she see him? Why couldn't _Amy_ see him? And why did it seem like Amy could _hear_ him? Why was he wearing his _red_ shirt, and _red_ bow-tie, when they'd just left him when he was wearing his _blue_ shirt, and his _blue_ bow-tie?

And why did she get the odd feeling that he was _leaving her_?

She stared at him for a few moments longer, then felt Amy patting her on the shoulder, so she looked away for _just_ a second... but when she turned back...

He was gone.

She stared at the empty spot in the middle of the road now, unable to believe what had just happened. What _had_ she seen? Was something going to happen in the future that brought them back to Aickman Road? Was something going to happen to her Dad on Aickman Road? Would they be able to stop it? She let the questions burn in her head, then felt Amy take her by the hand again.

"Are you okay?" she asked hesitantly, leading her down the street. "Who were you talking to?" She frowned. "You look like you saw a ghost."

Robyn was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out what she saw. "Maybe I did," she murmured. "Or something from the future." She frowned. "But would you still consider that a 'ghost'?"

"I don't know," Amy replied. "But maybe you should lay off the ghost stories for a while, yeah?"

"Yeah. Maybe I should."

But the sight of her father in the middle of the road, in the _wrong_ clothes, couldn't escape her mind. She thought about telling him when they were finished at the paper shop, but there was something about it that made her realise it was better to keep it to herself. If it really _was_ her Dad from the future, then it wasn't her place to go running about and telling him before it happened in case any of the circumstances changed.

However, deep down inside of her...

She hoped it did.

**OoOoOoOoO**


	8. Epilogue

**OoOoOoOoO**

Robyn was lying on the floor of her room, her eyes closed, as she listened to the humming made by the walls and the floor of the TARDIS, when the Doctor found her. He slipped into the room quietly, then lay down beside her. Then, ever so gently, he took her by the hand, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.

Without opening her eyes, Robyn smiled. "Hi, Dad," she said.

"How did you know it was me?" he asked, smiling at her as she opened her eyes a slither. "I could've been Amy, for all you knew."

"Your hands are different to hers," Robyn replied. "They don't have nail polish on them, for a start, and they're cooler than hers."

"Ah, now that's part of the difference between humans and Time Lords," said the Doctor, squeezing her hand. "My body temperature is lower than yours."

"So does my hand in yours hurt you?" asked Robyn, opening her eyes further. "Because it's warmer?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, it doesn't hurt me, but the lower body temperature means I can withstand some climates that you would have trouble being in."

"Why does Amy not make sense?"

The Doctor frowned, not expecting the sudden change of subject. "I'm not going to get out of that one, am I?" he remarked, letting go of his daughter's hand and leaning up on his elbows.

Robyn rolled onto her side, propping her head up on one arm. "Nope," she replied, beaming from ear to ear. "You said you'd tell me, and now I want to know. Why doesn't Amy make sense?"

"Because her house is too big."

Robyn frowned, furrowing her eyebrows. "It is?" she asked. "How?"

"Too many rooms," the Doctor said pensively. "Too many for just one girl to live in. She told me, fourteen years ago, from her perspective, that she didn't have any parents, and that she just had an aunt, but the aunt was never around."

"That doesn't seem so strange," Robyn replied. "Maybe her parents died, like mine did, and her aunt just wasn't that good at taking care of her."

The Doctor shook his head. "No, it's not that simple," he mused. "Not when she's been living... sleeping... dreaming... next to a crack in her wall for as long as she can remember it."

A terrifying thought suddenly struck Robyn, as she remembered what her father had told her about Rory. "What if they don't exist any more?" she asked. "Just like how the crack took Rory?"

"That's..." The Doctor paused, then smiled. "You're learning," he said. "That's exactly the conclusion I was coming to."

"It is?"

"Yes, it is, and now we have to figure out what to do about it."

Robyn sat up, crossing her legs beneath her. "Can we tell Amy?"

The Doctor shook his head, then sat up as well. "No," he replied. "We need to keep this to ourselves right now. It's not the right time yet to mention anything to Amy."

"Okay," Robyn replied. "But you better tell her what you told me, before you go doing anything stupid."

"All right," the Doctor said with a laugh. He got to his feet, then helped Robyn up from the floor. "Now, the TARDIS has been telling me it's been a couple of months since we picked you up, which would therefore make it your birthday, or almost your birthday, wouldn't it?"

Robyn grinned. Between all the excitement of finding the spaceship on Aickman Road, and doing all the things to set up for when their past selves arrived, that she'd almost forgot about it completely. She ran over to her desk and grabbed the calendar off the top, which she'd been using to carefully keep track of the days that had passed according to the date that she'd been adopted. "Yeah, it's my birthday in a couple of days," she replied.

"Then we should do something special, shouldn't we?" The Doctor smiled, and held out his hand. "Come with me," he said. "We're going on a holiday."

The End.

**OoOoOoOoO**


End file.
